Matthiasson Chardonnay

California Chardonnay???  WTF?  This sounds so outside the Small Favors wheel house—right?  

Typically you would be right.  We’re not big fans of the high alcohol content and over ripe character of many wines commonly associated with the area.  However, Steve Matthiasson has been a staunch advocate for lower sugar levels, better flavor, and more balanced wines for our a decade now.

Matthiasson gained a reputation in the region as a viticultural consultant for some heavy hitters—Stag’s Leap, Spottswoode, Hall, to name a few—but got his own place about 10 years ago and has been going from strength-to-strength ever since.

Unlike most of his contemporaries, he has a long history of working in the fields and farming that goes back to the 1990s and is a ardent believer in wines place on the table and not in a cellar as an investment.  Like us, he believes wine is made to be drank.

One of the early bottles that he put his own name on was a Chardonnay off of 14 acres in Linda Vista, and what sets it apart is how they manipulate the qualities of the grapes with a gentle hand to end up with something incredible and outside the norms of the Napa Chard shelf in most shops.  Indigenous yeasts, a stifled Malolactic fermentation, and a highlight of the wine’s natural acidity make for an excellent contrast against one of Napa’s most famous grapes.

We’ll be crushing this wine all spring with the new menu—especially the oysters, Rabbit and Turkey Tostada, and some of our tinned fish and conservas.  And hopefully we’ll pull in some of his wines made with Italian Varietals if y’all dig on this one.