During my Sauvignon Blanc show, I introduced the concept of a “virtual tasting� on an upcoming podcast as suggested by a listener. Of course, you can do this with any show by reading the wines in my post or comments section of the mp3 file, buy the wines and listen while tasting the wines. But I thought it might be fun to try something a bit different for my Chardonnay show coming up on March 29th or 30th.
Instead of pre-tasting the wines and writing up tasting notes to read on the show as usual, I will actually taste the wines “live� on the show to give you insight into how to put the basic tasting skills to use. Once the show is released, you could open one or more of these wines and taste them as you listen to see how similar or different your impressions are of these wines. I selected 3 Chardonnays which all should be readily available to listeners in North America and at least one available to others around the world. All three have different flavor spectrums and should give you an idea of how different climates, winemaking techniques and grape quality affect the flavor of the same varietal.
So here is your shopping list:
– Cambria, “Katherine’s Vineyardâ€Â? Chardonnay, Santa Maria Valley, Estate Bottled 2003 ($17)
– Antonin Rodet, Chateau de Chamirey, Mercurey Blanc 2001 ($19)
– Gallo of Sonoma, Chardonnay, Sonoma County “Reserveâ€Â? 2003 ($9)