INSIDER'S PICK: 2018 ALFARO FAMILY CHARDONNAY TROUT GULCH SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS $24.99

At a time like this, it's pretty much impossible to be 'normal'. But it is important to try and keep what you can as close to normal as you can while you can. Even though we will not be doing the public tasting portion of the Insider's Pick until further notice, we will still be offering the wine for purchase with the usual 10% discount on Thursday and Friday. The wines will still be ones we highly recommend, and the tasting notes will still be our own. We hope you are able to come by and get some wines to enjoy.

Trout Gulch sits along the top of the Santa Cruz Mountain range, emblematic of the term 'higher altitude vineyard'. The daily fog and cloud influence that rolls over the mountains from the nearby Pacific Ocean cools the vineyards by mitigating the heat from the sun, and the altitude guarantees the vineyards cool off more than the valley floor overnight by as much as 10-15 degrees. These cooler temperatures promote more natural acidity in the grapes when ripe and harvested, and can make for vibrant distinctive wines that many producers seek out. Several wineries source fruit from this property, often getting strong favorable press and fetching top dollar. Richard and Mary Kay Alfaro manage the property along with their own estate vineyards, and get access to some of the fruit to make into their own wine. With a fairly neutral 'hands off' style of winemaking in general, they give this brilliant quality fruit a lot of room to express itself and deliver a fantastic value for Chardonnay fans. Bright white fruit and lime notes on the nose with a little touch of creamy lemon curd, and only a touch of butteriness. The barrels used are multi-use and neutral, so the aromatics are all of the natural grape, and you can get even a touch of salinity that might be attributed to being only 4 miles from the sea. The palate is naturally rich, fleshed out a bit but some malolactic fermentation, but not so much that it obscures the flavorful sense of place the juice has, extremely lively and complex. This definitely doesn't taste like every other Californian Chardonnay, which is exactly what it wants to be.

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