Vintage Notes
A year of fire and ice, we began 2008 battling heavy frost in April, fires in the summer, and heat in the early fall. Reduced yields but intensely flavored, well-balanced, ripe fruit was the happy result of a very challenging growing season. Harvest began mid-August and the Chardonnay grapes for this wine were picked the beginning of September - 2008 being one of the fastest harvests we can remember.

Winemakers Notes
Two Chardonnay clones comprise this wine, which is hand harvested, whole-cluster pressed, cold settled for 24 hours in stainless steel tanks, and then moved directly to barrels for fermentation using select, new French oak barrels. Aged separately by lot, Emelia's Cuvée completes 80 percent malolactic fermentation and is sur lie aged and stirred every two weeks for 10 months prior to bottling.

Rhonda's Recipe and Pairing Notes

Emelia’s Cuvée Chardonnay pairs perfectly with seafood and poultry entrees, as well as salads with tropical fruit-based dressings. Light pastas, rice and vegetable dishes also marry well.