This post continues the series Cheap Wine Finds which also includes Cheap-ish Wine Finds for those days I feel like cracking open my wallet for a bit more cash. You can see all the posts in the series HERE. 

Cheap Wine Finds

[yellow tail] Tree-Free Chardonnay

I went to my local booze shop aka very posh Liquor Store this afternoon because I thought it about time I wrote another ‘wine review’. If you’ve been following along here you’d know that I don’t know much about wine. I just know what I like when I taste it. Choosing wine is easy when you don’t know very much about it. I have two criteria. One of which you’ve probably already guessed.

• Price ~ it has to be under $20 for me to consider it cheap
• Label ~ I like pretty, sexy or funny labels. I think wine companies are brilliant at sucking us in so I just go with it. And that’s usually the inspiration for a blog post about wine.

Are you judging?

My friend likes [yellow tail]

I have a friend (she’s not an Aussie) who enjoys her [yellow tail] Shiraz occasionally *cough* and I like it too but I’ve a hankering for white. So when I stumbled across this beauty I couldn’t resist. It appeals not only to the mom in me, one who enjoys wine too much to spend a lot of money on it, but also to the tree-hugger in me.

No Oak No Joke

It might be corny but the fact is the ‘no oak no joke’ sticker/label made me snicker which already makes it a winner (I’m so easy). And I like alliteration a lot. And *kangaroos are cool and I have some Aussie friends who are pretty ok too. So many reasons to like it already!

And I’m a tree-hugger

I’m a tree-hugger, kind of. Ok not really. You won’t see me with my arms wrapped around an oak tree to prevent development in suburban areas, although I do admit that it is disconcerting how big Vancouver is getting.

‘I was here first!’ you’d have heard me shout (from the treetops) a few years after Expo ’86 trashed any chance of it remaining a small town.

Rather, I am a tree-hugger in a modern-day sense. I connect with the forest, and am convinced if we spend enough time in it with our son we just might spot Totoro. (Totoro is a mythical Japanese forest spirit that I’ve convinced my son is ALIVE!) but that is another story for another day. We take walks amongst the old growth trees and teach our son about the importance of caring for the earth by not littering but we do leave small treats for the forest creatures. Ok, that’s not really modern at all. But I’m getting there.

I am going to do my part by tapping into my modern tree hugger-ness by drinking enough of this wine so that one day I can say that I saved at least a few hundred oak trees ALL. BY. MYSELF. Just don’t cut down any trees when I’m around or it might get ugly. Especially if I’ve been on my quest to ‘save oak trees’ for longer than an hour or so.

So how can Chardonnay be made without oak to age it in?

I have no idea.

I know nothing about oak and why chardonnay requires it. Does it require it? I’m not sure but I like the idea that wine makers are using alternatives to age their wines rather than use wood from trees that have been cut down.

And now on to the drinking because if you didn’t know, I haven’t even tasted this wine yet.

REVIEW

This chardonnay is quite nice. I think this wine would be great on its own or with a light pesto and chicken dish. It’s fruity and maybe a bit sweeter than I would normally drink but overall, pretty good. It has a lovely after taste albeit a bit acidic. But that could be because I am drinking on an empty stomach so I don’t recommend that you do. Unless you want to get sloshed. Then I say go for it!

And now for the real deal review. Here’s what they say about their wine over on their website.

“From the vine, to you, with love”

Lots of melons and peaches (but not the tinned kind).

Chardonnay when made in this fresh, leaner style is a lovely summery drink. Forget the flabby Chardonnay wines of yesteryear, this is the modern incarnation of the variety with plenty to enjoy in its youth. Melons, white peach and a hint of nutty complexity drive a soft textured palate but in the end it’s just a wonderful drink. Anything but Chardonnay is a thing of the past!

Aroma:

Tropical fruits with a citrus lift

Flavour:

Peach & melon with a creamy finish

The Grape 

Chardonnay is considered a ‘noble’ variety and is found in some of the world’s fanciest wines, including Champagne.

Great with…

Sunshine, a picnic in the park and rainbows, oh and it’s excellent with roast chicken.

**

My review was pretty bang on, except for the rainbows, damn! It looks like I know something about wine after all. Or maybe it was just luck. Anyway, I think you’ll like this wine for everyday consumption and at under $15 it’s pretty reasonable.

Do you have a favourite cheap wine find you’d like to share? Let me know!

You can find [yellow tail] them on Facebook and Pinterest.

By the way, I’ve just learned that it is not a kangaroo gracing the front of the bottle. It is a yellow-footed rock wallaby, cousin of the kangaroo. Just as cute but with a yellow tail.