~Weekend Journal - The Wall Street Journal~

When we began learning about wine 30 years ago, we explored the wines of America simply by buying everything we could afford that was new to us. That's how we first tried a Cabernet Sauvignon from a new winery called Kendall-Jackson and a fabulous Chardonnay from an unknown producer called Kistler.

In our tastings for this column, we often pass over small, unfamiliar wineries because we know their wines are almost impossible to find. In all of our years as enthusiastic wine consumers, it drove us crazy to read a rave review of some wine and then see, in tiny type, something like "50 cases produced." But we miss those good old days of exploration on a different plane. And, more important, we worry that we're not giving appropriate due to the people who still make many of America's best and most provocative wines: the committed vintners at smaller wineries.

These people are in the business for the passion, not the money, though, of course, money does help keep the fires of passion burning. They face all the stresses of small-business people, plus the hazards of nature that bedevil small farmers and, on top of that, all of the particular problems of trying to sell an alcoholic beverage in a country where distribution is a maze of powerful interests and local laws.

Finding Graceland

So, during the past two months, as we shopped for other wines for our tastings, we also picked up every Chardonnay we saw between $20 and $50 that we'd never tried before - and, in many cases, never seen before. This doesn't necessarily mean that they're all tiny production wines or are necessarily Mom and Pop operations. It also doesn't mean they're new to you because, as we've said so often, wine distribution is so screwy that a wine we've never seen in New York, New Jersey or Illinois could be all over the shelves in, say, New Mexico. But we certainly saw some interesting stuff, including the first vintage of Graceland Napa Valley Chardonnay, with a back label signed by Priscilla Presley (which we put in our wine closet next to our precious bottle of "Always Elvis").

Then we tasted the wines blind over several nights. With our very first sip, we knew this tasting was a good idea. Remember that first Chardonnay you fell in love with? Close your eyes and think back - way back. Rich, plump, buttery, almost chewy in your mouth. Crème brulee. Nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla, maybe a little pineapple and citrus. Warming and comforting, like a down-filled quilt. A long, buttery finish that lasted forever. Remember? Then all of us got used to Chardonnay that was simpler, easier, less expensive yet more reliable. Chardonnay ceased to be an experience and became just a nice wine.

The Dow Jones 'Other' Chardonnay Index MANY OUTSTANDING AMERICAN WINES are made by small producers whose bottles reach a limited number of states. We picked up Chardonnays between $20 and $50 that we hadn't tried before and tasted them blind over several nights. These were our favorites. By definition, these will be very difficult to find. We tasted them, and we list them, only as representatives of the many wines on store shelves that are made by passionate winemakers at smaller wineries. Take a risk and pick up something you've never seen before.
VINEYARD/VINTAGE	PRICE	RATING	TASTERS' COMMENTS
Arcadian Winery 'Bien Nacido Vineyard' 1998 (Santa Maria Valley)	$39.95	Very Good	Best of tasting. Great mouthfeel, good fruit and nice acids, all in a light-on-its-feet package. Plenty of finesse.
Norton Ridge (Briggs Wines) 2000 (Napa Valley)	$24.99	Very Good	Best value. Cream, nutmeg and butterscotch, but remarkably light, with great fruit tastes. Charming finish. Quite young.
David Arthur Vineyards 'Reserve' 2000 (Napa Valley)	$37.52	Very Good	Bright, with very nice acidity. Classy and slightly tight. Good with food.
Darioush Winery 1999 (Napa Valley)	$35.99	Very Good	Beautifully made. Big, roasted nose, but a clean, almost sharp taste and a memorable, rich finish.
Stillman Brown 'Lion Oaks Ranch' 1997 (Santa Clara Valley)	$35.99	Very Good	Brown sugar and maybe peanut brittle on the nose. Rich, chewy and a bit buttery. Roasted, interesting and filled with personality. Mature.
Varner 'Spring Ridge Vineyard, Bee Block' 2000 (Santa Cruz Mountains)	$36.99	Very Good	'It feels like a meal,' Dottie says. Big, ripe and old-fashioned, but with a nice spritz of lemon.
Note: Wines are rated on a scale that ranges: Yech, OK, Good, Very Good, Delicious and Delicious! These are the prices we paid at wine stores in Illinois, New Jersey and New York. Prices vary widely.

Well, this is one case where you can reclaim your youth. Those Chardonnays of yore still exist. Not only that, but there's more good news. In the old days, American Chardonnay was often criticized for being too fat or flabby. By that, the critics meant that the wine was at once too ripe and yet too low in acidity, leaving it broad and lacking focus. Wines like that can be hard to pair with food and often don't age well. Today's good Chardonnays seem to have licked that problem in many cases. Our favorites were generally almost as big-tasting as their ancestors, which we loved, but they also had a nice spritz of lemony acids that gave them balance.

No Accident

These are wines of personality and passion. Consider our favorite: "Elegant, with nice mouthfeel, good fruit, a dash of lemon, all in a light-on-its-feet package," we wrote. "Not big and ripe and explosive but elegant and easy to drink with finesse and good acids." This was from Arcadian Winery, and such outstanding winemaking is not an accident. Here's the winery's description of how the wine was made (stick with us here): "The grapes were hand-picked and delivered into the winery in the morning and then the whole cluster pressed using a small bladder press .... The juice was cold settled for 48 hours and then racked to barrel. Fermentation took place in a combination of new and one-year-old French oak barrels coopered by Yves Sirugue. [Joe Davis, the winemaker] prefers the long, elegant finish that these Burgundy barrels contribute to Chardonnay. Leuconostoc bacteria were added during primary fermentation to induce maolactic fermentation (a conversion of malic acid to lactic acid). This conversion helps reduce total acid and softens the wine. The wine was aged sur lee (on the yeast) for 16 months to reduce oxygen uptake and to soften the mouthfeel of the wine. Barrels are hand stirred every two weeks for three months to improve the textures and mouthfeel of the wine."

There's no need to understand all that. Our point is that winemaking is a highly personal art. Believe it or not, winemakers can get into heated arguments over much of that stuff. Malolactic? Horrors!

Because wines such as these are so highly personal, they're also made in very limited quantities. Fortunately, among our favorites, the Arcadian had the highest production: 2,222 cases distributed in 35 states. Each of our six favorites came from six different stores, once again proving that you have to look around to find new and interesting stuff. In fact, one of our favorites was a remarkable find: It was from a winery called Stillman Brown. There were only 120 cases made and they were distributed in eight states - New York, California, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Florida, North Carolina, Georgia, and Illinois.

Stillman Brown, the owner and winemaker is co-owner and winemaker for Jory Winery, which makes wine in New Mexico and California. The 1997 was the last of this special Chardonnay he made under his own name. More recent vintages were labeled as Jory wines. "My '97 didn't go through malolactic fermentation and I think that's one of the reasons it had wonderful acids. It has butteriness, but it's not from malo," he says. No maololactic? Horrors!

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