Winemaker Notes
Our winemaking practices haven't changed. The handpicked fruit is whole cluster pressed and fermented in 80 percent new and one-year-old French oak barrels. The remaining 20 percent is tank fermented in a temperature controlled, cool environment. With the large percentage of new wood, some of the barrel fermented lots are racked from barrel to tank after yeast and malolactic fermentation is completed. The tank lot too, is racked off its fermentation lees and allowed to age a few additional months in the barrels.
This is a big, rich Chardonnay that can handle a diversity of food. It isn't afraid of cool, dark cellars to gain some bottle bouquet. I recommend a simple pork roast and applesauce. This Chardonnay would pair very well with the Rhode Island clam bake prepared by my good friend and Chalone Wine Group's amazing Northeastern Regional Sales Manager, Cathy Harrison. Try pairing this Chardonnay with some of my favorite seafood dishes; oysters, singing scallops, spicy tuna roll, troll caught King salmon, mussels in green curry, grilled halibut or blackened catfish with hush puppies.
You will have to try this wine while listening to Aerosmith's song "Sweet Emotion." -John Abbott, Winemaker
ALCOHOL 13.4%
Canoe Ridge Vineyard is one of Washington State’s most recognized wineries, with its namesake vineyard established in 1989 in the Horse Heaven Hills AVA. Varieties are focused on Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay. The name comes from a ridge by the vineyard located along the mid-Columbia River, neat the town of Paterson. The famed explorers Lewis and Clark named this crest of land as they journeyed down Columbia River in 1805. From the river, the adventurers thought the ridge resembled an overturned canoe. The Walla-Walla based winery marked its 20th anniversary in 2014.
Bone-dry deserts, upriver winds from the Columbia River and long sunny days make the perfect conditions for growing wine grapes in the Horse Heaven Hills. Fine tannins and deep concentrates fruit flavors are characteristics that put our region on the map- synonymous with some of the most acclaimed wines in the Northwest.