My Favorite Wine

I like white wine. No arguements, no discussions. I like white wine. I do not like the flavor of reds, or the earthiness, or the "dirt like" quality that I taste in reds. Other people do. Not me. Now:
Having said that, I have several favorite white wines and nearly all of them are chardonnays. I'm not going to go into the whole discussion about the differences in the whites and what wine is good with what food (although I could) but I am going to offer a few selections of my favorites, and all of them are chardonnays. The chardonnay grape produces the mildest and most flavorful wine.
Several very good vineyards operate within an hour to an hour and a half drive from my house. (If you've never taken a winery tour I HIGHLY recommend it!) I recommend several of them without reservation. And if any of my local friends want to contact me for a "tour", just holler. For my local wines, my most favorite is Prince Michel. It's about an hour and half south of where I'm at but has the BEST chardonnay. They also have a viognier and a sparkling viognier (on occassion) that's beyond compare. They also run the gamut of reds, but I can't speak to them.
Much further south and east is the Williamsburg winery. I've been to several tastings there, and I've got to say that really and truly they have the best wines around. I even like their reds which I don't drink at all. But their reds, I would not say no to.
Now, for most people, the primary consideration in choosing wine is the cost. You CAN spend a significant amount of your take home pay on wine if you want to, but what for? Many of them will just go bad, and then what do you have? I've had the very expensive wines and haven't been all that impressed. Maybe it's my palate (the tasting part of your mouth), and maybe it's just that ingrained part of me that says WTF?!!
I really and truly like many of the cheaper and mind range wines. So I'll give you a run down of my favorite chardonnays. If you don't like the white wines, oh well. Go somewhere else. I'll start from the cheapest and go up.
My cheapest favorite wine is whatever is free. I have a dear friend who brings me Oak Grove every single time she comes over so for me it's free. However, for most people, it about $10-15 a bottle. It's also tough to find. I can't get it anywhere around me. So she brings it whenever she comes over. And I love her for it.
Okay, so for the real stuff. My best and cheapest wine is Woodbridge Chardonnay. It's really good and mild. I like to put it in the freezer for about two hours so when I pour the first glass it has ice crystals in it. That's wonderful for me. I drink wine VERY slowly. If you do too, you'll notice a change in flavor and texture as the wine warms to room temp. Every one of the changes can be cherished and appreciated. It's a true sybaritic experience. And if you're eating chocolate at the same time, WELL!!!
My next wine is Kendall Jackson Chardonnay. KJ (as I call it) is the wine that I order at restaurants if it's on the menu. The only other one that I'll order consistently is Copper Ridge. Both are wonderful, but both are completely different experiences. KJ is smooth and mellow and complements everything. It doesn't matter what you're eating, KJ will enhance it. Copper Ridge is a little more selective. It will enhance anything italian or fish based. Don't drink this one if you're eating a steak.
I'm not going to discuss the very expensive wines, but there's one that I do have to mention. My partner and I get this wine whenever we get brazilian barbeque (and if you've never done this, do it!!!!). It's Fess Parker Chardonnay. Yup, the Daniel Boone guy had a winery. And his whites are great. One bottle will run you about $30 on the open market, and higher in a restaurant, but it's totally worth it. It's a white that's so dry, you can almost taste the splinters from the oak barrel. Wonderful stuff.
Okay, so my two favorite whites are from other areas. They are mid-range price, and independent vineyards, and unbelievably good.
The first I was introduced to by my best friend. She and I get together about once every couple of months to get totally plastered on this wine to the point where we're setting trees on fire to enjoy the show. It's a really good wine and it's hard to find. It Oak Grove chardonnay and it's one of fruitiest and smoothest chardonnays I've ever had. When B brings it over, I drink about three bottles before it's even chilled. The other favorite I was introduced to by my sister a few years ago, and I would pour this over corn flakes for breakfast and go to work and have it for coffee break. I have done so many things with this wine that I can't even count them. Primarily, I drink it. Lots of it. All the time. It just doesn't get un-good. Nearly anyone who knows me, knows that if they show up at my house with a bottle of this stuff, they are going to be more than welcomed.
It's call Five Rivers. It's bottled out of Washington state in the Pacific Northwest and I have no idea how they keep the grapes from spoiling with all the rain, but it's the BEST!!! Everyone I've recommended this wine to has fallen in love with it. And a couple of restaurants in the area have added it to their menus based on my recommendation. AND their reds are just as smooth and flavorful as their whites. And I don't drink reds. But theirs are GOOOD.
I love wine. It's good stuff. Please feel free to comment with a question or comment. I'll share anything I know or experience about wines anytime.
Enjoy! (and drink up!)