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Everything Broad Ripple HomearrowRandom Ripplings Homearrow2016 04 01arrowColumn

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Converted from paper version of the Broad Ripple Gazette (v13n07)
The Wine Scene: by Jill A. Ditmire
posted: Apr. 01, 2016

Wine Scene header

TOURNEY TASTES

Indianapolis hosts the The NCAA Women's Basketball Finals this weekend while the men's showdown is in Houston, Texas.
There seems to be no tried and true method for selecting winners when it comes to the brackets. Not so for bottles.
Toad Hollow Vineyards in Healdsburg California has been successfully producing and selling its flagship wine since 1994: Unoaked Chardonnay.
"We started with 3000 cases of unoaked Chardonnay and that is all we did. Then we gradually increased production of that wine and added other varietals. It wasn't an after thought to not age it in oak. It was a conscious decision we made to do that style of wine", says owner, Francine "Frankie" Williams. During a recent phone conversation she told they were pretty much on their own in making that style of dry white wine. During the 90's and 2000's most California producers were saturating their Chardonnay juice with oak to create an over-the-top California Fruit Bomb Style that tasted more like a rich boozy cocktail than a glass of wine for food. Not Toad Hollow. "We wanted a wine that would be good on its own without food but would interact correctly so it doesn't overshadow or overpower the food," says Frankie, who along with her late husband Todd, had successfully run several restaurants in the San Francisco area before heading to wine country.
The Robert Mondavi Winery in Napa, California is another that has stood the test of time despite family turmoil, buyouts and tricky vintages. In 2011, the winery chose a different kind of madness to support, March Madness, by partnering its Woodbridge line with The V Foundation for Cancer Research. Former ESPN commentator and NCAA winning coach, Jim Valvano created the foundation in 1993 just a few months before he died of cancer. So far, proceeds from some of the Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi wines sold in March have raised over a million dollars for the foundation. Its flagship Cabernet Sauvignon created decades ago still offers the same notes of earthy red fruit, toasty oak, and a touch of vanilla making it an easy drinking wine for game day foods like burgers, nachos, and pizza.
Best of all, even if you didn't win the office pool you can still afford a bottle of either. Both are widely available and under $15.



Jill A. Ditmire is an Omnimedia wine specialist, AWS certified wine judge, freelance broadcast journalist and 20+ year home owner in the Warfleigh neighborhood of Broad Ripple. Send your questions and comments to Jill at jill@broadripplegazette.com
Also on INSTAGRAM @jaditmire




jill@broadripplegazette.com
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