Holiday madness: We're in the thick of it. But throughout this gifty frenzy, have you thought about the biggest name on your gift list this year...YOU? Quit thinking about other people. Think about your wine cellar.
Visit the Kunde Family Winery website
2015 Chardonnay, Sonoma Valley
Intriguing aromas of fresh cut green apple and marzipan lead to a palate of cantaloupe melon with a vanilla cream finish. This medium-bodied estate grown wine is well-structured with crisp acidity that is rounded out by a toasty butterscotch richness. A delightfully fresh expression of Sonoma Valley Chardonnay that begs a second glass.
Winemaker’s Comments:
“Chardonnay is the queen of the whites and this lady suits that description to a tee. Across the incredibly diverse Kunde Estate, combined with a collection of clonal selections, complexity and focus come together in an easy sipping white wine. For those who like their Chardonnay to be crisp, a beautiful dose of acid and the richness of barrel fermentation creates a very lightly oaked, tasty experience.”
Winemaking: The Sonoma Valley offers an ideal climate for growing first class Chardonnay with its warm days and cool, breezy evenings. May was the one exception to an otherwise flawless growing season due to two weeks of cooler 60° temperatures which were a bit scary as we were finishing flower. Luckily, we set our precious berries just fine and then moved into a warm summer. Whole-cluster pressing and cold-settling of the juice was followed by barrel fermentation (90% of the blend) and cool-temperature fermentation in stainless steel tanks for the remainder. The barrel-fermented wines were aged on the yeast lies with stirring once a week, followed by malolactic fermentation. The tank fermented wines did not go through malolactic fermentation. 80% of the wine was aged for nine months in French oak barrels (27% new oak), with 20% aged in stainless steel, and then bottled in August 2016.
Food Pairing: Grilled Yellow Fin Tuna fish tacos with a fresh salsa infused guacamole
At Kunde Family Estate, our winemaking mission is to craft elegant wines with a real sense of place—beautifully balanced and expressive of our dramatic vineyard landscape.
For over a century, five generations of the Kunde Family have farmed our 1,850 acre-estate in the heart of Sonoma Valley—a truly remarkable legacy in the modern age of California winemaking. A fervent, forward-thinking vision of land stewardship and sustainability began over one hundred years ago, and has been shaped with each successive generation.
Today, Kunde Family Estate is still family owned and operated with a hands-on team of 4th and 5th generation family members at the helm. At the end of the day, every decision we make, every wine we craft, and every experience we provide honors the legacy of founder Louis Kunde, who emigrated from Germany and purchased the original Wildwood Vineyards ranch at the turn of the century in 1904. Cresting the second century was a profound milestone for the family. Moving forward, we remain committed to innovation and state-of-the-art facilities, while also maintaining a deep, personal commitment to sustainable winegrowing and preserving the land for generations to come.
| 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
|---|