From the Winemaker:  The vibrant color and aromas of fresh picked pears, lychee, caramel covered apples and yellow nectarines instantly fill your senses and are complimented by hints of honeydew and very ripe mango. The mouth fills with complex flavors of sweet, rich,Asian pears, butterscotch, caramel and juicy, sweet cantaloupe. Soft hints of nougat and vanilla round out the wine to produce a very seductive, lingering finish.

WINE INFORMATION

The history of the Peirano family dates back to 1879, when Giacomo Peirano, a grape farmer from Genoa, Italy, immigrated to San Francisco, CA, in the hopes of fulfilling the American dream of striking it rich with gold during the historic Gold Rush age. Soon he realized this was not going to be possible and moved to Lodi where he opened a business to supply goods for the miners. The business expanded to a farm and went through some transitions (World War I, Prohibition, The Great Depression, and World War II). In 1992, Lance Randolph, the fourth generation of Peirano to farm the 300 acre estate, began making Peirano wine for himself and to prove Lodi could produce desirable wines.  After considerable praise for his ability to make elegant wines, he decided to start bottling and selling Peirano wine using his estate grown grapes.

The estate-grown Chardonnay grapes were hand selected and hand-picked. Grapes are harvested using the “dual harvest” technique: half of the block is harvested in mid to late August, when the fruit still has firm acids; the other half is picked from 3-4 weeks later, when the grapes are bursting with sugars.

After fermentation the wine is kept on the lees with punchdowns ever two weeks once fermentation was complete, allowing the wine to gain complexity and structure. About 50% of the juice went through malolactic fermentation. This Chardonnay was barrel aged in French and American oak barrels, 15% of which is new wood.