Mark West Chardonnay 2008
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Mark West Winery's goal is to craft wines that consistently deliver enticing aromatics, a rich supple mouth feel, and classical varietal characteristics. The wines pair easily with food or for drinking alone. Their goal is to combine outstanding value and style in every wine they produce.
Jason Becker joined Mark West Winery as the winemaker in 2015. Pinot wasn't always in his plans. Jason originally set his sights on becoming an engineer. That is, until his first job at a winery in the Santa Cruz Mountains. That's when everything changed. After graduating from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in 2008 with a double major in Wine & Viticulture and Agricultural Business, Jason set out on a path that would ultimately lead him to Mark West. From cellar intern to barrel room technician to assistant winemaker, these stepping stones are what brought him to Mark West.
One of the most popular and versatile white wine grapes, Chardonnay offers a wide range of flavors and styles depending on where it is grown and how it is made. While it tends to flourish in most environments, Chardonnay from its Burgundian homeland produces some of the most remarkable and longest lived examples. California produces both oaky, buttery styles and leaner, European-inspired wines. Somm Secret—The Burgundian subregion of Chablis, while typically using older oak barrels, produces a bright style similar to the unoaked style. Anyone who doesn't like oaky Chardonnay would likely enjoy Chablis.
The largest and perhaps most varied of California’s wine-growing regions, the Central Coast produces a good majority of the state's wine. This vast California wine district stretches from San Francisco all the way to Santa Barbara along the coast, and reaches inland nearly all the way to the Central Valley.
Encompassing an extremely diverse array of climates, soil types and wine styles, it contains many smaller sub-AVAs, including San Francisco Bay, Monterey, the Santa Cruz Mountains, Paso Robles, Edna Valley, Santa Ynez Valley and Santa Maria Valley.
While the Central Coast California wine region could probably support almost any major grape varietiy, it is famous for a few Central Coast reds and whites. Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Zinfandel are among the major ones. The Central Coast is home to many of the state's small, artisanal wineries crafting unique, high-quality wines, as well as larger producers also making exceptional wines.