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22 Jan Please The Palate Wine of the Week: Pali Wine Co 2023 Chenin Blanc, Pali Vineyard, Sta. Rita Hills
With the horrendous fires that spread across Los Angeles last week, I, like many others, have been preoccupied. My priorities were making sure my family was safe, checking on friends across the city, and responding to friends reaching out to check on me. It is devastating to see the destruction that has occurred across my city, specifically in Altadena and the Palisades. So many people have lost their homes and there is much work to do. So, when I thought about the Please The Palate wine of the week, I knew immediately which wine it would be. It is the Pali Wine Co 2023 Chenin Blanc, Pali Vineyard, Sta. Rita Hills.
About Pali Wine Co.
Pali Wine Co. was named after the Pacific Palisades. That is where Tim and Judy Perr lived and raised their sons Nick and Justin. And it where they established their first business, Perr & Knight. Wine became a growing passion and they began traveling up the California coast, visiting wine regions. Like many before them, they were “bit by the wine bug” and were drawn to the idea of making wine. They founded Pali Wine Co in 2005 and named it after their hometown as a tribute.
In 2007, Aaron Walker joined Pali Wine Co as winemaker. And in 2012, the Perrs purchased their own vineyard in the Sta. Rita Hills in the Santa Ynez Valley. The vineyard is 50 acres in Gypsy Canyon in the Sta. Rita Hills. The majority of the vineyard is planted to Pinot Noir, as well as some Chardonnay, and Pali produces a vast selection of Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. But after Pierce’s disease killed 20% of the Pinot Noir vines, they replanted with other varieties. One of these varieties is Chenin Blanc.
Chenin Blanc is not new to Pali Wine Co. They have been purchasing Chenin Blanc grapes from Jurassic Park Vineyard in the Santa Ynez Valley for 10 years. In 2022, they grafted Chenin Blanc onto existing rootstock. Planting it in their vineyard in the Sta. Rita Hills makes it likely the only Chenin Blanc grown in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA of Santa Barbara County. 2023 was the first vintage of the Pali Wine Co Estate Chenin Blanc.
Tasting Notes
The Pali Wine Co 2023 Chenin Blanc, Pali Vineyard, Sta. Rita Hills was fermented with native yeasts and aged in neutral oak. It offers lovely aromas of grapefruit, apple, pear, and wet rocks. The wine has a silky texture, bright acidity, chalky minerality, and leaves the mouth watering for more.
Where to Purchase
The Pali Wine Co 2023 Chenin Blanc, Pali Vineyard, Sta. Rita Hills retails for $50. There were only 129 cases made and the 2023 sold out quickly. But stay tuned for the 2024 Chenin Blanc and be sure to grab it when you can at Pali Wine Co. In the meantime, enjoy any of their other wines. You cannot go wrong with any of their Pinot Noirs or Chardonnays. And when you drink a bottle of Pali Wine, remember what was once the scenic coastal town of Pacific Palisades.
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