and on Wednesdays...

We drink WINE!

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To me, wine is proof that Jesus loves me... and you.. and well all of US!

And shoot, Jesus drank the wine.

Therefore, you should too!

Since I love Jesus and I love the Wine, I decided to start a new series. 

Each week, on Wednesdays to be exact, I will be bringing my “Pick of the Week”  from the Vino aisle.

We shall call it #WineWednesday

Sounds sooooo good, doesn't it?

I know I want a glass now too!

This week, I am going to talk to you gals and guys about unoaked wine, specifically Chardonnay, and all its unoaked glory.

But first, lemme tell a story... (shit, I should hashtag that, huh?)

But first #lemmetellastory. 

(ahh much better)

Last weekend I went to my favorite place the Liquor Store and I was approached by the lovely teller (quickly after I just downed a tester of Texas Honey Liqueur - BTW delish!) I assume she thought I needed some help walking as I was quickly proceeding to the wines. It was urgency that I think she was mistaking for being drunk. Anyway, seeing as she worked there I thought she and I could share some great conversations about WINE and other sorts of spirits, and possibly become the greatest of buds - so I decided to take her on my trek to the wine aisle... However, there was a quick halt in the urgency as she directed me to the Kendall. I was out on that with a quickness. No offense and nothing against a cheap wine. In fact, I LOVE CHEAP WINE! Just not the Kendall, and definitely not Beringer (unless I am desperate buying roadies at the gas station to help soothe a hellacious day that was ending at wedding with no alcohol!! What?! I didn't even think that was possible) Anyway, I digress… and yes, I did sneak wine into a wedding. Call me what you want.

But seriously, and back to the story, if I am out in 90+ degree whether shopping for (& in dire need of) some wine, Kendall is definitely NOT what I had in mind. She was a wonderful lady, and I sincerely appreciated her kindness and company, and I guess subtle help, but I can only assume that she was new in the Vino district. So I took things over from there.

My new liquor store friend kept touching and pointing to a lovely little bottle that said unoaked Chardonnay. She proceeded to ask me if I had unoaked wine and I told her “I didn't even know that existed!” “What is unoaked wine?” Feeling slightly ignorant after my gag-face when she pointed to the dreaded K, and then realizing we were probably on the same level of Vino knowledge. I decided to try it regardless.

According to Liquor-store Lady, unoaked is wine that has been aged outside of the oak barrel…

Okay guys, I kind of figured that it had something to do with the barrel and production!! But what the hell does it do to the wine??

I grabbed the bottle and hit up the Google, and now, I give you my thoughts and knowledge on this whole Unoaked Wine Thing.

BTW, I did check with my very legit wine expert. One who I've know since middle school, and who happened to be one of our groomsmen in our wedding.

Yep, that's him. He's worked and lived in the beautiful wine country for several years now, and we happened to take a nice little trip to visit him the night after we were engaged. We talked about wine and even privately toured one of the wineries. Therefore, his wine knowledge is precious to me so I had to pick his brain over the whole unoaked thing. Now, this is where I have to tell you, he is not endorsing this wine, he simply made it sooooo easy for me to understand unoaked Chardonnay and I'd feel really silly if I didn't ask for his help. Plus, he drinks the good fancy stuff, it's practically right at his fingertips.

Basically, Chardonnay is typically fermented or aged (OR BOTH) in oak barrels to give it that beautiful rich bold flavor that I've come to adore. However, using oak barrels can become pricing which leads to an increase in price... did I mention I like inexpensive wine? But this wine, and it's unoaked process was so good and just as good as any of my other go-to Chards with bold nutty flavors.

So here's the deal:

Wine: 2013 A by Acacia Chardonnay Unoaked (love that it has my first initial right on the label)

Price: $10.49 + tax (to be exact - I would know since I spent an hour trying to peel of the price tag label for photos)

Taste: Very smooth and definitely BOLD (which is soooo my type of thing!)

Serving Suggestions: Serve this wine chilled, like I would suggest for any other white wine

Initial Thoughts: Now this is MY KIND OF WINE. Honestly, I was completely expecting to have a mouth full of sweetness (sorry, just not my thing), and sure enough it was right up there with my go to!

Final Thoughts: I would totally buy this wine again, especially for myself, or as a hostess gift if I am feeling generous. No dreaded headache the next morning like some other less expensive wines. Nope, just a nice all-around great wine. Go getcha some!

Have you tried an unoaked wine? Did you love it? Hate it? Share your thoughts, I'd love to know how you feel about unoaked wines.

  oxox, 

Amanda