This episode showcases the delightful Cambria Catherine’s Vineyard Chardonnay from Santa Maria Valley, highlighting its unique attributes and exceptional value. As a quality wine priced at just $15.99, it stands out for its balance, fermentation techniques, and individual character, making it a perfect choice for holiday festivities.
• Introduction to the Cambria Chardonnay and its festive appeal
• Description of the Santa Maria Valley and its unique climate
• Catherine’s Vineyard backstory and its significance
• Explanation of fermentation techniques used in the wine
• Detailed tasting notes emphasizing acidity and mouthfeel
• Comparison with typical brand Chardonnays and their flavor profiles
• Wrap-up with a recommendation for this Chardonnay during the holidays
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or email us at [email protected]
Speaker 1
0:05
Hey
,
welcome
.
It's
Domain
Day
from
CheapWineFindercom
again
like
we
always
do
for
these
companion
podcasts
for
a
wine
we
wrote
up
on
the
CheapWineFindercom
website
.
We
write
up
about
three
value
price
wines
a
week
.
We're
going
a
little
upscale
because
this
is
the
holidays
and
today
I've
got
a
wine
I
found
at
costco
,
but
it's
not
a
costco
original
um
,
it
was
$15.99
.
It's
more
like
$20
.
Speaker 1
0:32
Elsewhere
it's
the
cambria
catherine's
vineyard
,
santa
maria
valley
,
chardonnay
2022
.
Santa
maria
valley
is
in
Santa
Barbara
.
Santa
Barbara
is
about
100
miles
north
of
Los
Angeles
,
on
the
very
southern
part
of
the
Central
Coast
.
Ava
.
Catherine's
Vineyard
is
the
project
of
Catherine
Jackson
of
Jackson
Family
Wines
Think
Kendall
Jackson
.
They
have
a
whole
bunch
of
wines
and
she
is
proprietor
of
this
vineyard
and
it
was
planted
in
1986
and
it
was
named
after
her
.
I
think
she
was
just
a
kid
back
then
,
but
this
is
a
single
vineyard
wine
in
the
Santa
Maria
Valley
.
Speaker 1
1:28
Santa
Maria
Valley
is
a
really
nice
place
.
They
have
a
map
of
the
vineyards
on
their
website
.
I've
got
the
links
to
all
that
in
the
website
and
I'm
looking
at
the
vineyards
around
it
and
there's
like
,
oh
my
goodness
,
there's
some
of
the
best
vineyards
in
California
in
this
area
of
the
Santa
Maria
Valley
,
which
is
an
east-west
valley
coming
up
in
the
heart
of
Santa
Barbara
County
,
ava
,
and
the
east-west
allows
the
winds
coming
off
the
Pacific
Ocean
just
go
flowing
right
through
.
So
it's
a
nice
,
cool
growing
area
.
There's
a
river
down
there
.
It's
a
great
place
to
grow
both
Pinot
Noir
and
Chardonnay
.
I'm
gonna
take
a
sip
so
.
So
while
this
is
a
single
vineyard
winery
,
I
mean
it
is
part
of
a
big
winery
.
Jackson
family
has
a
lot
of
wines
and
they're
good
at
what
they
do
,
but
this
is
one
of
the
daughters
,
katie
Jackson
,
does
run
this
winery
and
it
is
a
winery
and
it
has
vineyards
.
The
buildings
right
there
and
out
the
door
are
their
vineyards
.
Speaker 1
2:45
It's
traditional
.
What
I
like
about
it
is
what
I
have
found
over
the
years
.
I
have
liked
it
when
they
half
the
juice
is
fermented
in
stainless
steel
and
no
malolactic
fermentation
and
the
other
half
is
an
oak
barrel
and
they
have
full
malolactic
fermentation
.
Now
malolactic
fermentation
takes
the
acidity
in
the
grapes
there
is
natural
acidity
and
it's
tart
,
and
the
malolactic
fermentation
takes
that
tart
acidity
and
turns
it
into
a
rounded
lactose
.
It's
like
milky
kind
of
acidity
.
So
on
one
hand
,
you
get
this
kind
of
tart
fruit
not
tart
tart
citrus
and
this
rounded
fruit
and
they
come
together
with
the
exact
same
grapes
.
Speaker 1
3:33
They
age
it
in
oak
for
six
months
,
or
five
months
,
I
think
that
on
leaves
,
and
80%
of
the
barrels
for
this
is
new
French
oak
.
The
reason
they
don't
do
100%
French
oak
,
because
there'd
be
so
much
oak
imparted
into
the
Chardonnay
,
which
is
a
white
wine
and
somewhat
delicate
though
it's
not
as
delicate
as
others
and
it
would
take
years
for
it
to
balance
out
.
So
you
can
that
you
can
drink
it
.
So
then
,
so
it's
not
making
into
a
butter
bomb
,
just
a
little
bit
new
,
a
little
bit
.
Second
Phil
.
Third
,
third
fill
,
fourth
fill
,
just
enough
to
give
you
look
at
them
flavors
and
still
be
able
to
be
released
at
a
regular
,
a
decent
amount
of
time
.
Speaker 1
4:14
Now
I'm
going
to
taste
this
and
it's
good
.
It's
got
really
nice
acidity
,
it's
balanced
,
it
doesn't
bite
,
gives
the
flavors
enough
time
to
unfold
,
because
it's
a
single
vineyard
and
they
have
a
bunch
of
Chardonnay
there
.
They
said
this
is
their
flagship
wine
,
but
I
think
it
lists
on
their
website
for
22
,
and
everything
else
is
48
to
60
.
So
,
while
it
is
their
flagship
wine
,
but
I
think
it
lists
on
their
website
for
$22,000
,
and
everything
else
is
$48,000
to
$60,000
.
So
while
it's
their
flagship
,
maybe
they
have
more
expensive
ones
and
the
winemaker
gets
to
know
the
grapes
After
a
number
of
years
.
You
get
to
know
.
Speaker 1
4:58
In
California
the
climate
changes
a
bit
weirdly
,
like
downpours
and
forest
fires
.
The
weather
kind
of
changes
.
The
temperature
changes
are
rare
.
So
they
get
to
know
it
.
So
they
kind
of
figure
out
what's
good
for
the
grapes
and
what's
not
good
and
where
you're
going
with
that
and
it's
really
kind
of
nice
.
I'm
going
to
take
another
sip
.
Speaker 1
5:19
It's
got
a
creaminess
to
it
.
It
was
aged
on
leaves
.
On
leaves
is
where
you
keep
the
dead
yeast
in
with
the
wine
after
it's
fermented
and
if
you
stir
it
that's
bontanage
,
it
means
stick
,
it
becomes
creamy
and
it
does
have
that
Also
on
leaves
gives
it
a
nutty
,
salty
thing
.
I'm
not
really
picking
up
much
on
that
,
maybe
a
little
bit
of
salt
,
but
not
too
much
.
Really
well-rounded
,
really
nice
mouthfeel
.
Speaker 1
5:53
This
is
a
definite
step
up
from
the
typical
brand
Chardonnays
.
Not
that
they're
bad
,
I
really
like
them
.
They
tend
to
be
crowd-pleaser
,
not
cloud-pleasers
,
maybe
clouds
like
them
.
They
tend
to
be
cloud
crowd
pleaser
,
not
cloud
pleasers
,
maybe
clouds
like
them
.
But
you
know
they're
all
rounded
fruits
and
you
know
.
And
vanilla
,
a
little
butter
.
This
one's
got
more
complexity
to
it
.
Speaker 1
6:13
This
one
is
more
of
an
individual
statement
on
Chardonnay
from
the
vineyard
,
and
for
16
bucks
that's
not
a
bad
thing
to
get
,
because
sometimes
you've
got
to
spend
more
to
get
that
.
So
you've
got
a
winemaker
who
knows
the
grapes
.
You've
got
a
great
vineyard
.
You've
got
a
vineyard
that's
actually
named
after
the
proprietor
,
so
they're
not
going
to
allow
the
grapes
or
the
vineyard
to
fall
on
hard
times
.
You
know
it's
got
my
name
on
it
.
It's
going
to
be
good
.
So
there
you
go
.
This
is
the
Cambria
Catherine's
Vineyard
,
santa
Maria
Valley
,
chardonnay
2022
.
If
you
can
find
it
at
Costco
,
it's
$16
.
Everywhere
else
it's
a
few
dollars
more
.
So
there
you
go
.
Like
us
,
we
like
your
podcast
.
I've
got
a
couple
more
coming
because
the
holidays
are
still
on
their
way
,
so
I'll
talk
to
everybody
in
a
couple
days
.
It's
kind
of
threatening
the
snow
here
in
Chicago
,
so
stay
warm
.
