2012 Williams Selyem Drake Estate Vineyard Chardonnay, 1.5ltr

Williams Selyem was founded in 1981 when Ed Selyem and Burt Williams, friends who shared winemaking as a hobby, decided to make a commercial vintage. The men were neighbors in the Russian River Valley with full time jobs that were unrelated to winemaking. Nevertheless they purchased grapes and made Zinfandel, then single-vineyard Pinot Noir. Williams Selyem Pinots quickly earned a cult following. In 1998 the founders sold the winery to John and Kathe Dyson, former customers with backgrounds in wine production and business. The winemaker is John Cabral. Though the estate is best known for Pinot Noir, it also makes Chardonnay and Zinfandel. Says Robert M. Parker Jr: “The overall style of Williams Selyem Pinots remains one of elegant, high-acid wines that can age….”

Central Coast AVA is a huge wine producing area that extends from Santa Barbara County in the south to San Francisco in the north. With more than 100,000 vineyard acres, it includes parts of six counties near the Pacific Ocean. Nearly 20 smaller AVAs lie within the Central Coast AVA. Central Coast earned appellation status in 1985. Included in the appellation are parts of the counties of Contra Costa, Monterey, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz. Nearly every grape varietal grown in California is grown somewhere in the Central Coast AVA, though Chardonnay accounts for nearly 50% of the entire wine grape crop.

This white variety originated in Burgundy, but is now grown around the world. Its flexibility to thrive in many regions translates to wide flavor profile in the market. Chardonnay is commonly used in making Champagne and sparkling wines.