Wine Wednesday: Arrington Vineyards, Part One

 I was in Nashville recently, and visited a vineyard in nearby Franklin--because that's something I really like to do. Arrington Vineyards has beautiful grounds and interesting wines that have won awards (some in San Francisco).

I'm always somewhat surprised by which wines win awards. I think that's because they usually strike me as being very atypical wines. But maybe that's what judges are looking for? I don't know. 

I enjoyed four different wines there (and took copious notes) and I'll be discussing them over the next four weeks. But first...

Here's a picture of the grounds. We sat outside at that first table there. It was warm and somewhat humid (there was a big storm later and a tornado!) and we had to climb a steep-ish hill to get up to the winery (because we mistakenly parked in the overflow lot at the very bottom of the hill) but otherwise, it was quite an idyllic setting. 

Oh! And there was a Tulip Tree! When I was a child, the Sunday papers often came with adds for interesting plants one could buy. Assuming one was not a child, of course. And assuming that one lived some place that A. the company in question was allowed to ship plants to and B. said plants would survive.

I remember being enamored with Tulip Trees, but of course I never managed to acquire one...have I mentioned that they're also quite large? But I recognized it right away and, honestly, it was thrilling!

But now, onto our first wine--the 2022 Chardonnay!

This Chardonnay was a lovely, light gold color. I thought it smelled like spiced cider, or perhaps apple pie. I smelled apples and cinnamon, maybe a little vanilla. The tasting notes were dead on with this one.  The taste was light and refreshing with notes of lemon zest and poached fruit. It was the perfect wine for that day and location. This is an outdoor wine. The kind of wine I'd drink on the porch (if I had a porch) in summer--in place of lemonade. Or in early fall--in place of cider. 

I'm always talking about how versatile Chardonnay can be, and this is a great example of that. I generally consider Viognier to be the perfect picnic wine but this wine might be even better. Depending upon what food you've chosen, obviously!

For example, I think I'd pair this with cold fried chicken rather than a charcuterie board. 

Also...shout out to Arrington for having some of the best tasting notes! I'm very often frustrated with wineries in Texas because their websites typically say NOTHING useful about their wines. And I want ALL the deets!