La Crema Chard

I suppose drinking a California Chardy is about as far from a standard drop as it gets in our home. Chardonnay isn't generally my first choice for whites and I don't tend to buy many US wines - except when south of the 49th parallel - since I'm far from thrilled with the way our provincial government tends to force the prices through the roof as soon as anything except American bulk wine crosses the border.

That position of mine may change a bit next year since the 2013 Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival has named California as its Theme Region and Chardonnay as the varietal for Global Focus.

In the mean time, we're drinking California Chardonnay tonight.

1158. 2007 La Crema Chardonnay (Sonoma Coast - California)

Given the lack of California Chardonnay in our cellar, I don't know much about La Crema or its wines. A quick look at the website reveals that they only produce Chardonnay and Pinot Noir - the two star varietals from Burgundy. However, they do have vineyards in five different regions in the state and produce both varietals from each region, this bottle featuring fruit from the Sonoma Coast district.

Most references online point to this wine as having good value (when being purchased in the US, no doubt) but I still found it to be a little oaky for my palate. Fairly lush and full, but a bit of a switch from the bright whites that I tend to favour.

No doubt, I'll be paying a little more attention to the whole Cali Chard genre over the next year. Guess we'll see if the number of appearances at our table has increased at all come next summer.