Scenic Root Winegrowers Forager Chardonnay 2014
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This is a dialed-down, vibrantly bright and citrusy wine, tart in green apple. Integrated oak provides texture and waves of body in a lighter-styled package. Fermentation and maturation of the wine took place in new as well as seasoned French oak and stainless steel tank.
Jonathan lived, worked and studied in France and later earned a BS degree in Agriculture and an MBA here in California. He enjoyed a career in the ultra-premium wine industry and has worked with some of the best – Domaine Louis Jadot (Burgundy), Robert Mondavi & Schramsberg (Napa Valley), Australia's iconic Penfolds and several Bordeaux chateaux.
Susan is a recognized leader in the "service" side of the wine industry with extensive training and experience in California and Europe. After attending university in Italy, she earned her BA degree in the US and soon began working as Wine Director for a large & prestigious Bay Area-based restaurant group. Today she is one of the most prominent restaurant wine buyers in North America. She tastes and evaluates hundreds of wines per week – something that almost no other winemaker can bring to the table, yet she brings this insight to bear on our wines.
Together, Jonathon and Susan Pey bring decades of education and experience to their "small lot" winegrowing. Unlike the big wineries that produce every varietal under the sun, they specialize in a handful of wines – all in small quantities. As a CCOF - Certified Organic winery, they encourage environmentally friendly practices at many stages, from conserving soils and water, managing pests and using a natural approach in winemaking. For the winemakers, natural winegrowing means producing the finest quality wines while working in harmony with nature and protecting the health of the earth and its people.
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 vast appellation covering Sonoma County’s Pacific coastline, the Sonoma Coast AVA runs all the way from the Mendocino County border, south to the San Pablo Bay. The region can actually be divided into two sections—the actual coastal vineyards, marked by marine soils, cool temperatures and saline ocean breezes—and the warmer, drier vineyards further inland, which are still heavily influenced by the Pacific but not quite with same intensity.
Contained within the appellation are the much smaller Fort Ross-Seaview and Petaluma Gap AVAs.
The Sonoma Coast is highly regarded for elegant Pinot Noir, Chardonnay, and, increasingly, cool-climate Syrah. The wines have high acidity, moderate alcohol, firm tannin, and balanced ripeness.