Chalk Hill Estate Winery Experience
What a fabulous lunch and reserve tasting I had with the Chalk Hill Wine Experience.
My host is Courtney Foley.
Courtney is now the winemaker for Chalk Hill Estate Winery in Sonoma, California.
The Chalk Hill Estate Winery is famous for its Chalk Hill Chardonnay.The Chalk Hill Estate Winery is famous for its Chalk Hill Chardonnay.
This Chardonnay comes from unique chalk and limestone estate vineyards.
Like so many wineries today, the owners create the Chalk Hill Estate Winery Experience to include tours, tasting, and the culinary arts.
The Terroir Behind Chalk Hill Winery Estate
The Chalk Hill Estate Winery is famous for its Chalk Hill Chardonnay.The Chalk Hill Estate Winery is famous for its Chalk Hill Chardonnay.
This mineral component comes out in the wines. Chalk Hill Estate Chardonnay and Chalk Hill Pinot Noir are famous around the world.
History of Chalk Hill Winery
In 1972, the original owner Fred Furth takes a plane trip over the Russian River. Outside the airplane, he sees a natural curve carved into the hills of eastern Sonoma.
Instinctively, he thinks this would be a great terroir for Chardonnay.
Also, Pinot Noir, and other varieties of wine grapes.
Fred’s intuition tells him the land has the potential to support a world-class vineyard.
A subsequent tour confirms that the spectacular property had the climate and soils to grow luxury-class wine grapes.
Decades later, he sells to William Foley because he wants a family to take it over.Decades later, he sells to William Foley because he wants a family to take it over.
Over the next several decades he builds a home, plants the vines, and builds a winemaking facility. Decades later, he sells to William Foley because he wants a family to take it over.
During the Chalk Hill Estate Winery Experience you can see this terroir and taste the grapes that have grown on it.||
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About Courtney Foley, Chalk Hill Wine Estate Winemaker
Courtney initially went to law school with an aim of becoming an environmental lawyer;
Later, she joins the family business as a winemaker. For her, that means going back to school to get her winemaking credentials.
Subsequently Courtney spends several years “working her way up” the ladder selling Chalk Hill Estate wines.
T Foley family are very much into food and wine and food pairing and offer a culinary experience at their wine estate),
Courtney explains she minored in geology during university and is therefore a “rock hound.” This is a great background for her present career as a winemaker.
This is a great background for her present career as a winemaker.
About Wine from Chalk Hill Winery
Chalk Hill winery–and Courtney as winemaker–are focused on creating wine that expresses the terroir of their unique site.
Though most of the vineyards lend themselves to aromatic white wines (Sauvignon Gris, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay) the winery makes Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Bordeaux blends.
The tasting began with the Sauvignon Gris 2017, a delicious wine with aromas and flavors of nectarine and peach, with delightfully refreshing acidity.
Next was the Sauvignon Blanc 2017, refreshing but remarkably rich at the same time … a “winter Sauvignon Blanc” as Courtney says. Its richness is due to 20% malolactic fermentation and stirring of the lees.
This wine had substantial weight and would go great with dishes such as scallops.
Chardonnay is what California is well known for, and the 2016 Estate Chardonnay had substance and notes of green apple.
This 2016 vintage saw over 50% new French oak and was 100% barrel fermented.
The 2016 estate bottled Mount Eden clone Pinot Noir was delicious with more black fruit than red, a delightful match for poached salmon.
The 2015 Estate bottled Bordeaux blend had a majority of Cabernet Sauvignon and 29% of Malbec along with other varietals (Petit Verdot and Merlot).
The high proportion of Malbec is testament to how well Malbec can grow on Chalk Hill. It was a great pairing with red meat as was my favorite, the Clara’s vineyard proprietary blend that could rival anything Bordeaux offered.
The Chalk Hill Estate Winery Experience Visit Information
Chalk Hill winery offers a variety of different tours and tastings, and availability to book as private events.
Virtually all wineries have wine clubs these days, yet members get to taste and purchase wines that are not available over the counter, such as the Sauvignon Gris and other wines that are made in very small quantities.
It was a delightful meeting and I am excited to visit this winery. Please follow all my wine adventures on Instagram @awinestory
Here is a video introducing the Chalk Hill WIne Estate
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About Author Marisa D’Vari
D’Vari contributes to Forbes.com, Financial Times, World of Fine Wine, Quarterly Review of Wine, Decanter Robb Report, San Francisco Chronicle, South China Morning Post, and more.
She holds the (WSET) diploma, Certified Sommelier through the Court of Master Sommeliers, a Certified Wine Educator through the Society of Wine Educators … to see it all, please click on bio