Winemaker Notes
We start with fruit selections chosen for their aromatic properties and flavor intensity. Our Votre Santé Chardonnay is crafted using a split fermentation technique, where half of the fruit is fermented in oak and half is fermented in stainless steel. This method produces the perfect degree of richness and spice nuances from the wood so the wine has body and character, but also derives a good balance of ripe, expressive fruit. Since we believe wine is best enjoyed with a delicious meal and the company of good friends, we craft our Chardonnay in a foodfriendly style that has a moderate level of natural acidity. Finally, a small percentage of the wine undergoes malolactic fermentation to create a luscious mouthfeel. All of these efforts produce a wine with succulent fruit, a light buttery texture and just a kiss of toasted oak.
Our 2009 Votre Santé Chardonnay offers an elegant balance of ripe, mouthwatering fruit, bright citrus notes and a creamy finish. The alluring scent of honeysuckle, pears and cinnamon is followed by impressions of summer melons, yellow apples, tangerine and vanilla ice cream.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This statewide blend stands up well against far more expensive Chardonnays. It’s rich and crisp in acidity, with tropical fruit, pear and peach flavors, as well as a generous coating of oak and buttercream. Easy to find, with nearly 11,000 cases produced. Best Buy.
Francis Ford Coppola Winery, re-opened in July 2010, is the latest venture from Francis Ford Coppola, whose passion for wine, food and adventure is nowhere more evident than in this new production – a winery resort located in the heart of Alexander Valley, California. Among the many attractions at the property, Francis Ford Coppola Winery features a wine tasting bar, two restaurants, swimming pools, a movie gallery, a performing arts pavilion and a park area with game tables and bocce courts.
Francis puts it best, saying the winery is meant to be "a wine wonderland, a park of pleasure where people of all ages can enjoy all the best things in life – food, wine, music, dancing, games, swimming and performances of all types. A place to celebrate the love of life."
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.