Well the home stretch allows me to go with some of the more mainstream varietals that have been avoided so far. In retrospect perhaps I should have started with them as I refer to their characteristics so often. Tonight we re-cork the prosecco and advance to Chardonnay from Stryker.
Often times the grape itself is a blank canvas and if it hasn't enjoyed a hard life in tasty soil (thus introducing its "terroir") it is often barreled in oak to introduce a buttery vanilla component. Far too often the oak exceeds the grape but many producers make what the public are drinking and these days, oak it is. Though I normally admire Stryker's wines I happen to be one who prefers no oak at all and the 2005 Russian River Valley Chardonnay exudes those vanilla honeysuckle notes that the oak introduces. Still, I won't cancel my membership!
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