Toasted Head Russian River Chardonnay 2004
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Where the heck is Yolo County?
Yolo County may not be a major destination for wine lovers, but that's okay by us. Our neighbor to the west, Napa County, gets all the tourists, while Sacramento County, to the east, gets all the politicians (and hot air!). We're in between, in one of California's original 27 counties, which has stayed a rural oasis that is now home to a large community of artists and craftspeople, as well as California's greatest concentration of organic farmers. The name Yolo is from the native Poewin Indian word "yo-loy," meaning "abounding in the rushes," but some locals insist it's an acronym for "You Only Live Once."
Our estate vineyards in Yolo's Dunnigan Hills, a designated American Viticultural Area (AVA) on the eastern side of California's Coast Range Mountains, are perched on rolling hillsides with well-drained gravelly loam soils. It gets warm in the Dunnigan Hills in summer, but cooling breezes from the Sacramento Delta and San Francisco Bay reduce evening temperatures to between 55° and 65° F. This enables our grapes to cool down quickly at night, preserving their fresh flavors and crisp natural acidity.
For over 30 years, the farms around here have supplied northern California's finest restaurants and farmer's markets with a cornucopia of delicious, organically grown fruits, vegetables and nuts. At Toasted Head, we're proud to have added fine wine to the menu.
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.
A standout region for its decidedly Californian take on Burgundian varieties, the Russian River Valley is named for the eponymous river that flows through it. While there are warm pockets of the AVA, it is mostly a cool-climate growing region thanks to breezes and fog from the nearby Pacific Ocean.
Chardonnay and Pinot Noir reign supreme in Russian River, with the best examples demonstrating a unique combination of richness and restraint. The cool weather makes Russian River an ideal AVA for sparkling wine production, utilizing the aforementioned varieties. Zinfandel also performs exceptionally well here. Within the Russian River Valley lie the smaller appellations of Chalk Hill and Green Valley. The former, farther from the ocean, is relatively warm, with a focus on red and white Bordeaux varieties. The latter is the coolest, foggiest parcel of the Russian River Valley and is responsible for outstanding Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.