California, Washington and Oregon wines were sweet spots for many. The ripe-fruited Chardonnays, velvety Cabernet Sauvignons and fruit-driven Pinot Noirs are very specific wine styles, difficult to find elsewhere. But these six excellent wines might just scratch the itch. They’re not the same, but they’re certainly similar. So similar you might never go back to your former favourites.
To replace your favourite California Chardonnay
2023 One Pound Per Acre Chardonnay South Australia
Australia and California are both sun-drenched places capable of making ripe, round expressions of Chardonnay, with a natural affinity to American oak. This bottle is a case in point. Each glassful tastes like the perfect, lemon Danish pastry. The fragrance calls to mind tart lemon curd, toasted pastry and vanilla icing. The entry is smooth and bright with a bracing centre balanced by a slight butteriness and a twist of orange zest. Then, it slowly tapers to a vanilla-toffee finish. Easy win at a low price. (13.5% alc. 3 g/L sugar)
2024 Lindeman’s Bin 65 Chardonnay South Eastern Australia
Those who crave richer styles of oaked Chardonnay will love this expression. Each swirl of the glass releases vanilla cupcake and crème brûlée aromas. Then, it surges in with sun-soaked flavours of juicy pear, baked apple and fresh pineapple drizzled with caramel before receding to that vanilla-cream character found on the nose and lingering. Tasted blind, you might mistake this Aussie Chardonnay for a more premium version from California. One sip and you see exactly why this label has been popular for eons. Reliable bargain. (13.5% alc. 5 g/L sugar)
2023 Speck Brothers Family Tree “The Goat Lady” Chardonnay VQA Niagara Peninsula
This bottle from Ontario tastes like wooded Chardonnays from cooler parts of California, Washington and Oregon. It’s ripe and toasty, fermented and aged in American oak and shows a subtle note of sweet butter, but that bright seam of acidity is where the cool climate shows through. The luminous white starts with the scent of orange Creamsicle before sweeping in with a generous wave of ripe pear and lemon-butter that soon shifts to reveal hazelnut biscotti and marmalade on toast. Short finish but keeps you sipping. (13% alc. 6 g/L sugar)
To replace your favourite California Cabernet Sauvignon
2022 Barone Montalto Cabernet Sauvignon Nero d’Avola Sicilia DOC, Italy
Sicily, that island off the coast of Italy, enjoys hot, sunny summers and mild winters. So the styles of red wine produced there tend to be ripe and jammy, like the sweet-centred Cabernets and red blends from California. If you love that style, this is your wine. It blends Cabernet Sauvignon with Nero d’Avola, a black-cherry-scented variety. And the results are deliciously hedonistic. Think strawberry jam and plump black-cherry aromas followed by a velvety blast of muddled cherries, cassis, dark chocolate and coffee crema. (13.5% alc. 10g /L sugar)
2023 Villa Puccini Governo Toscana IGT, Italy
If you miss those rich, almost spoonable Cabernet Sauvignons and red blends from the U.S., you’ll love this gorgeous Governo. It’s like that — but more affordable. This lush red starts with the warm perfume of poached plums and berries before a fleshy, expansive flood of flavour follows. Then, allusions of fruitcake and walnut emerge on the finish. Saturated and full, yes, but refreshing acidity hems in the opulence well. Fun fact: Governo means the wine was made with dried fruit, which adds depth and power. (14% alc. 13g /L sugar)
To replace your favourite California Pinot Noir
2023 Leyda Reserva Pinot Noir D.O. Valle de Leyda, Chile
California and Oregon Pinot Noir tends to be round and fruit-forward — much like this bottle from Chile. On the nose, a beautiful black raspberry and wild blueberry fragrance draws you in and then nods toward dark earth and warm violet. That invitation leads to a shiny-smooth slip of ripe-berried goodness: raspberry and blackberry at first, followed by coy allusions of graphite, violet and spice. Sweet-fruited but bone dry, this slow sipper offers outstanding quality at a very reasonable price. Might become your new house red. (13.5% alc. 3 g/L sugar)
