Wine Down and Chill with Bread and Butter
This article was originally posted on March 6, 2020 at https://gritdaily.com/wine-down-and-chill-bread-and-butter/
We’re getting good feedback around our current wine down and chill format. And many of you have indicated that you want to learn about wine then get down to drinking it! Got it.
We’ll continue to offer affordable suggestions for music, wine, dinner and movies with a different wine down and chill theme each week. You can also follow me on Instagram for wine art and photography @WineDownAndChill. We’re here to help you sit back, wine down and chill. If you missed an article, fret not! You can find every article here.
Theme: Bread & Butter
Today’s wine down and chill theme is pretty much self-explanatory. As a wine-lover, this theme conjures up thoughts of swallowing a nicely balanced, smooth Chardonnay. If you’re part of the deep South in Paula Deen territory, or simply one of her thousands of fans, then today’s theme might have cued your salivary glands to start doing “their thing” at the thought of fried butter balls. Mmmmm. Butter …
Listen: It’s Not Happening This Week
Despite my best efforts to source a good wine down and chill playlist with the words bread or butter in the titles, I came up short. I recognized only a couple of songs on these lists!
Learn: Napa Valley’s Chardonnay History
Napa Valley, with its long, warm sunny days and cool evenings, as part of the elite 2% of Earth’s “ideal grape-growing” Mediterranean climate conditions, is the perfect home for Chardonnay grapes. This famous wine down and chill region is renowned for its world-class Chardonnays. Some oenophiles would argue that Napa put Chardonnay on the map – and tongue – of just about everyone who enjoys a smooth white wine.
Chardonnay was reportedly first introduced to Napa Valley in 1882 by Charles Wetmore who grafted vines imported from Mersault, France, where the grape originated. The Napa Valley Vintners, an authority on wine-growing in the region and the rich history thereof, and numerous others cite the 1976 Judgment of Paris as the day that changed the world of wine. And it just happened to coincide with the USA’s bicentennial anniversary.
In a blind taste-testing, California Cabernet Sauvignon (my favorite red) and Chardonnay (my favorite white) were pitted against the best wines crafted in Bordeaux and Burgundy. In a stunning upset, Chateau Montelena Chardonnay and Stag’s Leap Cabernet Sauvignon (one of my all-time fave wineries and Cabs), both Napa Valley wines, dethroned their French counterparts for the coveted “best wine” titles.
Wine: Bread & Butter Chardonnay
Bread and Butter Wines are affordably priced and widely available across the USA. Their wine-making philosophy is rooted in the simple pleasures for the every day consumer and experience.
The 2017 Bread & Butter Chardonnay is priced at $15 per bottle and is the perfect #ThirstyThursday or #FridayFeeling glass of chill. Or, consume it any other day of the week for a delightful experience of creamy vanilla, toasted almonds and – of course – mmmmm, butter. The oral experience is similar to that of consuming a crème brûlée. Oak-aging lends a buttery smoothness to the finish and the wine offers just a hint of acidity to keep it balanced and refreshing.
Dine: Bread, Butter, Cheese & Wine
A wine down and chill dinner doesn’t get any simpler than this. Select a few of your favorite cheeses, procure a freshly baked artisan bread, have some hand-churned butter ready for spreading at room temperature, pour yourself a glass of chilled Chardonnay and call it done. Add some deli meats if that’s you’re thing.
Today’s featured winery and wine recommends that you “pair it with some equally pleasurable foods.” I can’t think of anything more pleasurable to eat than wine with cheese, bread, and butter!
Watch: Bread & Butter
I know, creative, right? Call it “on-theme.” Watching the trailer of Bread & Butter highlights the best and the worst of being a young woman navigating life, work, over-the-top parents, men, and sex. This romcom has something that everyone can relate to from the over-bearing boss to the inevitable love triangle and how both have the power to undo your entire life.
It’s the weekend. It’s time to wine down and chill. Cheers!
Image by Thanks for your Like from Pixabay