With so many holidays coming up, and with gatherings of friends and family, now is the time to splurge on special wines from around the world to enrich your holiday meals! December’s special occasions include:

• Winter Solstice December 21 (and we’re celebrating my son’s 21st birthday and college graduation!)
• Christmas Eve December 24
• Christmas Day December 25 
• Hanukkah December 25 to January 2
• Kwanzaa December 26 to January 1
• New Years Eve December 31

This December, we’ve already celebrated

• Cabernet Franc Day December 4 with memories and wines from the Loire, France
• Fondue Fun with Family and Friends with Sparkling Wine from Germany
• The Cold Full Moon December 16 which is also Pinot Meunier (Moon-YAY!) Day with wine from Champagne, France (read here)

How can we at Wine Predator help? With these informative posts coming right up!

• 9diDANTE Vermouth plus cocktail ideas and pairings– this is how you want to start your evening– and maybe end it!
• Napa Valley Chardonnay from Flora Springs, Frog’s Leap, Smith-Madrone, Sequoia Grove with pairings (below!)
• Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from Flora Springs, Frog’s Leap, Smith-Madrone, Sequoia Grove with pairings (next! here!)
• It’s imPORTant! W. & J. Graham’s Trio Port pack with Sue’s Christmas cookies– a classic closing note 
• Plus on the December docket: we’ve already developed pairings, tasted wines, and took photos and notes of wines from Georgia, Italy, California, Portugal and more! 

Chardonnay is the world’s most popular white wine, with 43% of all sales in the United States, and for good reason: it’s versatile both in how and where it is grown, and how and where it is made. In Napa, the wines tend toward what’s seen as the rich, oaky, buttery California style — a style that is not my favorite or Sue’s, however, it can make a powerful match for rich holiday foods. One tip is to let the wines lay down in your cellar for awhile, and let the oak integrate with the fruit. We were quite happy with the wines from these four wineries with our pairings. 

Napa Valley Chardonnay

• 2021 Sequoia Grove Napa Valley
• 2021 Frog’s Leap “Shale and Stone” Napa Valley 
• 2019 Smith-Madrone Spring Mountain District, Napa Valley   
• 2018 Smith-Madrone Spring Mountain District, Napa Valley
• 2018 Flora Springs Napa Valley Family  Estate 

Holiday Menu Ideas for Napa Valley Chardonnay

• Baked Brie 
• Caesar Salad with Alaskan King Crab Legs
• Sue’s Savory Parmesan Shortbread Crackers
• Shrimp Bisque
• Squash Risotto 

2021 Frog’s Leap “Shale and Stone” Napa Valley 

ABV: 13.4%
SRP: $42
Grapes: Chardonnay
sample for my review

The historic and family-rooted Frog’s Leap grows grapes using organic techniques and eco-friendly production methods to produce great wines with reduced environmental impacts. These practices contribute to improved soil health, water conservation, and biodiversity preservation.

Appearance:  Pale gold, lemon gold with a platinum rim, very clear

Aroma: Butter toast, salted herbs, very savory, eureka lemon, flint.

Palate: Lemon, salinity, herbal finish, nice acidity, tart lemon, herbal, fennel, flint. Nicely balanced and pleasant, well crafted, even tempered, this wine is like the quiet person in the room. What do they need to be more interesting, the right music or topic to talk about? The right pairing? Does the wine need to open up a bit more? What is the environment that it needs to speak because I believe it has a voice and has something to say. 

Pairing: With food this quiet person in the room becomes much more interesting. While fine with the baked brie and bisque, every element of the risotto shines with the wine: the herbs are highlighted, the squash is enhanced. It is amazing what the wine and this dish do to each other, the way that the wine accentuates every element of the dish is perfection. Mouthwatering with the salad and very nice with the crab as well. 

Favorite pairing with this wine was the squash risotto. But this wine was also so great with the crab, the Caesar salad, and the Parmesan crackers. 

2019 Smith-Madrone Chardonnay, Spring Mountain District, Napa Valley 

ABV: 14.6%
SRP: $45 for current vintage 
Grapes: Chardonnay
sample for my review
1153 cases

Just in time for the holidays, Smith-Madrone has released the 2021 vintage.

There was no 2020 vintage due to the Glass fire; read my interview with Stu Smith here as well as tasting notes, pairings, and photos from my 2019 visit to the winery to meet Stu.

Dry farmed vineyards and sustainable practices as this is the best way to grow grapes, but Stu pooh-poohs biodynamics.  

Appearance:  yellow gold, lemon, pale straw

Aroma: Lots of character on the nose, lemon, lemons and herbs, sage, thyme, bright acidity,  hint of smoke, lemon chicken on the grill, grilled Meyer lemon, clean minerals on the finish. 

Palate: Nicely rich, butterscotch, grilled Meyer lemon, sage, very expressive, great acidity, grilled pineapple, very nice wine. 

Pairing: Just fine with the shrimp bisque as the shrimp was a bit too sweet for the wine. So very nice with the Caesar salad and more than that fabulous with the crab, just the right richness and sweetness to dance perfectly with the wine. Very good with the rich squash risotto. Very nice with the baked brie: it was perfect with the rich brie sweet honeycomb and the sprinkling of lavender. 

Favorite pairing was with the baked brie with fresh honey and lavender. Even with a decent amount of honey which you would think would be too sweet, it worked beautifully, 

2018 Smith-Madrone Chardonnay, Spring Mountain District, Napa Valley

ABV: 14.5%
SRP: $45 for current vintage 
Grapes: Chardonnay 
sample for my review
945 cases 

Appearance:  Deep gold, sunshine gold, pale rim.

Aroma: Bee pollen, fennel pollen, savory, chamise, sage, fennel frond, sandstone, the nose is somewhat elusive.

Palate: Mouthwatering acidity, concentrated fruit, tart lemon, fresh pineapple, green apple, chamomile, so much freshness for a 2018, toasted bread, pine resin. 

Pairing: Very nice with the baked brie on fresh warm bread. Very nice with the Caesar salad: the fresh greens are so sweet and the wine is highlighted by the fresh garlic. The crackers were amazing with this wine, so fantastic with the buttery richness cracked pepper and rich salty parmesan cheese, absolutely a perfect pairing. We would have been happy with the wine and a plate of crackers! The wine likes the creamy richness of the risotto, however the squash is a bit too sweet and makes the wine a bit tart. Great with the shrimp bisque; the wine and the soup just popped while lingering together in the glass. 

Favorite pairing of the night with this wine was the shrimp bisque and the Parmesan crackers.

2018 Flora Springs Chardonnay Napa Valley Family  Estate 

ABV: 14.2%
SRP: text
Grapes: Chardonnay
sample for my review

Lots of changes at Flora Springs as it was bought by Jean-Charles Boisset and Gina Gallo-Boisset from the from the Komes and Garvey families which founded the winery in 1978. Read more about this ghost winery here as well as about the sale.

Appearance:  Pale lemon, platinum rim

Aroma: Chamomile buttered toast, golden delicious apple, Meyer lemon, citrus blossom, 

Palate: Very round, butterscotch, pleasant, classic Napa Chardonnay, nice balance between fruit oak and brightness, well crafted, bitter a bit on the finish but should be balanced with food nicely, 

Pairing: Fabulous with the buttery parmesan crackers, great with the Cesar salad, the fresh greenness of the romaine making the lettuce almost sweet, and the fresh garlic are fast friends with the wine, loves the garlic and the rich egginess of the dressing, there wasn’t anything we didn’t like about this pairing, the risotto was so lovely and rich and fantastic with the wine. great with the sweet and savory spices Sue chose to roast the squash with, wine loves the rich and creamy baked brie, it was alright with our shrimp bisque, but found the creamy soup a bit too sweet for this particular wine. 

Favorite pairing with this wine was the Caesar Salad and the Parmesan crackers.