Wine of the Week: 2022 Aslina Chardonnay
My favorite wine from the last week is the Aslina Chardonnay – one of my favorite chardonnays, shared with one of my favorite women.
Dee is one of my college roomies / besties for the last 16 years (!), and also one of my first clients for my wine consulting business. I've been drinking wine with her and buying wine for her for a while so I’m pretty familiar with her palate. She invited me for dinner on her rooftop to celebrate NYC spring almost kinda sorta fighting its way past winter. For the occasion, she whipped up a delicious spread: grilled salmon, chicken, veggies, and a decadent baked mac and cheese. Bringing the wine was definitely the easier job!
The Perfect Pairing
The 2022 Aslina Chardonnay was the perfect complement to the meal. The genius behind Aslina, Ntsiki Biyela, is the first Black female winemaker in South Africa. Full disclosure: I'm a huge fan of Ntsiki, she’s a lovely woman and has been helpful in my wine journey. However, life is too short to drink bad wine even if the winemaker is delightful, so here is my totally honest and unbiased assessment: her wines are delicious, buy them, drink them, and thank me later.
The Breakdown
Looks like: Golden hour in a glass. The perfect summer sunset, begging you to enjoy the moment.
Smells like: Apricots drizzled in honey. Your nostrils will thank you.
Tastes like: Apple pie a la mode – balanced acidity of tart, sweet cinnamon-soaked apples, the perfect level of burnt on the crust, with a cool vanilla ice cream finish.
Why this Worked
Here's my thesis on why this wine paired so well with our grilled feast. Oak barrels used for aging wine are often toasted, meaning they're exposed to fire. This process can add different flavors to the wine, including toast obvi, but also sweet notes like honey and caramel, and spices like vanilla and cinnamon. Oaked white wines are a great choice for grilled fish and chicken, as the toasty notes complement the smoky flavors imparted by cooking over an open flame. Chardonnay also tends to be a creamier white wine, which paired beautifully with the velvety mac & cheese. It all just...worked.
So what did we learn? Invite me over for dinner! I'll bring great wine, write nice things about you, and even do the dishes. And when you try the Aslina Chardonnay and love it, let me know!