Cultivate

Bermuda shorts, feet in the Bermuda sand. A vibrant caftan and sandals at a bazaar in Turkey. A swingy dress, bare shoulders, and a bar in Monaco. A one-way around-the-world ticket. A fun-loving traveling companion and a well-worn map.  Luggage packed with treasures from every corner of the globe. Wonderlust is a laid-back jetsetter at ease in the world, equally happy with caviar or potato chips, and always dressed for the occasion.  

In search of the perfect everyday drinking white, our winemaker Nat found this one from the cool Valle Centrale in Chile to be both approachable and sophisticated. Our team includes more than a few red-snobs, and when we tried this wine together as a team for the first time, we were all blown away. We're all excited to have this 3L box in our fridges-- it's the equivalent of 4 bottles, and with a hermetic seal, the wine stays at peak freshness for at least month! 

Region

Colchagua Valley in Chile’s Central Valley (w/ a smidge from Limari in the north)

Climate

Colchagua runs East-West towards the Pacific. This orientation gives the valley a cooling influence with lots of good airflow off the ocean. This proximity also moderates the temperature swing from day to night. This means a more even and gentle ripening of the fruit and subsequently, a more balanced wine.

Soil

Chile’s soil is at least as diverse as California’s (which is REALLY REALLY diverse). Colchagua has clay, loam, limestone and volcanic. Most of the white varieties are planted in limestone and volcanic while the red varieties get planted in the loam and specifically Merlot in clay. Colchagua also has tremendous altitude swings with grapes planted as high as 3000 meters above sea-level.

How Blended

After a week of tasting and travelling throughout Chile, it became abundantly clear that Colchagua was the region to go for good Chardonnay. The best vineyard holdings and the most up-to-date and state-of-the-art production for box wine could both be found at MAOLA winery. Here I tasted over 30 tank samples before blending began. With MAOLA’s winemaker we selected Chardonnay lots that exhibited bright, crisp and food-friendly flavors. We found good balance with wines that were aged only in steel tanks (no oak barrels). In 2010 we added a dash of Semillon to the Chardonnay to flesh out the texture of the wine and to reinforce that sense of bright crisp fruit. In 2011, we replaced that dash with a grape called Moscatel. Our goal in 2011 was to maintain that sense of freshness and brightness, but add some depth of flavor and texture to the wine.

Tasting Note

Wonderlust Chardonnay offers a bright, tasty everyday drinking white wine. Notes of pineapple, melon, meyer lemon and banana create a balanced and pleasing wine from the cool, coastal regions of Chile.