This lovely, elegant white wine by winemaker Steve Clifton is a great choice for an aperitif, or for pairing with raw or cooked fish. Pale in color and quite dry, it offers fragrant notes of sweet pear, honey, and minerals lifted by highlights of citrus. But it’s tasty enough to stand up to bolder foods than you might expect, such as Caesar salad topped with prawns or chicken, raw fish with a citrusy vinaigrette, or sand dabs with buerre blanc sauce. It’s best enjoyed young; you’ll find it in local restaurants, their Lompoc tasting room, or online at palminawines.com. It’s a very good buy at only $18 retail.
This article appears in Feb 2-9, 2012.