1995 Forman Chardonnay

Forman Vineyard, in St. Helena, Napa Valley, was founded in 1983 by Ric Forman, who remains the owner and winemaker. Forman owns nearly 90 acres in the St. Helena and Rutherford appellations. Forman has spent his life in the Napa Valley. While a student at the University of California at Davis he worked for Stony Hill and later at Robert Mondavi. At age 24 he was hired as winemaker at Sterling Vineyards. Forman makes primarily Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay, though he has also made Merlot. His wines are made in traditional California styles, according to wine write James Laube, who compliments them for their “finesse and grace.”

Napa Valley AVA is the most famous winemaking region in the United States and one of the most prestigious in the world. With nearly 43,000 acres of vineyards and more than 300 wineries, it is the heart of fine wine production in the United States. Winemaking started in Napa in 1838 when George C. Yount planted grapes and began producing wine commercially. Other winemaking pioneers followed in the late 19th century, including the founders of Charles Krug, Schramsberg, Inglenook and Beaulieu Vineyards. An infestation of phylloxera, an insect that attacks vine roots, and the onset of Prohibition nearly wiped out the nascent Napa wine industry in the early 20th century. But by the late 1950s and early 1960s Robert Mondavi and other visionaries were producing quality wines easily distinguishable from the mass-produced jug wines made in California’s Central Valley. Napa Valley’s AVA was established in 1983, and today there are 16 sub-appellations within the Napa Valley AVA. Many grapes grow well in Napa’s Mediterranean climate, but the region is best known for Cabernet Sauvignon. Chardonnay is also very successfully cultivated, and about 30% of the AVA’s acreage is planted to white grapes, with the majority of those grapes being Chardonnay,

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.