Oregon and California Chardonnays to savour - and taste at the 2025 Vancouver International Wine Festival - February 22 - March 2!

If you love Chardonnays - and if not you are really missing out - here are three excellent bottles that you can taste at this week's Vancouver International Wine Festival - or find elsewhere to purchase and enjoy at home. 

I was fortunate enough to be provided with two wonderful Chardonnays from one of Oregon's best wineries - Lingua Franca - and another beauty from California's Unshackled Wines, part of the well-known The Prisoner Wine Company repertoire.

And the good news is that you can still purchase tickets to the VIWF's International Festival Tastings on Thursday February 27, Friday February 28 and Saturday March 1 from 7 to 10 p.m. or Saturday's matinee tasting from 2:30 to 5 p.m.  Prices range from $119 to $139 per person.  And there are still a few other public wine events with tickets still available, as well as trade tasting events for those in the wine, restaurant and hospitality business. Check the VIWF website here for the Festival At A Glance and ticket status. 

But back to Chardonnay - my absolute favourite of white wines, despite a few naysayers with an ABC philosophy - Anything But Chardonnay - they are simply wrong! 

I started with Lingua Franca's flagship 2021 Estate Chardonnay from the Eola-Amity Hills in Oregon's Willamette Valley - what a knockout wine! 

There are lovely citrus and green apple notes along with smooth river stone minerality and honeysuckle, coming in layer upon layer!  Very, very appealing and delicious wine that would be great with shellfish and other seafood or white meat dishes - or just on its own!   The Estate Chardonnay was extremely well-regarded by leading wine publications, with Decanter scoring it 95 points, the Wine Advocate 94 points and the Wine Spectator 93 points - high praise indeed!  Pricing is about $60 U.S. and yes, it is a bit hard to find - try private wine stores. 

It's sister wine - the Lingua Franca 2021 Avni Chardonnay - is also a great one, with layers of minerals, citrus and white flowers, as well as lemon peel, green apple, nuts and spices in the background - in other words, yummy!   

It was also very much appreciated by wine publications, with the Wine Advocate and Decanter scoring it 93 points and the Wine Spectator 92 points - just behind the Estate!  Pricing is a bit lower at $40 U.S. and it can be found at some BC private stores like Marquis Wines in Vancouver. 

I also greatly enjoyed the Unshackled 2021 Chardonnay from California's Central Coast region!  It has white peach, cream and green apple in the bouquet, with some stone fruit and honey notes - very tasty indeed!   Interestingly, there is also some Albarino varietal mixed in with the Chardonnay to make it a bit more complex and delicious.  The Unshackled Chardonnay is available at the VIWF to taste and to buy at the on-site BC Liquor Stores outlet - and I expect it will hit wine store shelves in BC and Canada soon - I hope so!  

So there you have it - three excellent Chardonnays from Oregon and California that are not to be missed at the Vancouver International Wine Festival - I hope to see you there! 

PS:  The Lingua Franca Pinot Noirs and the Unshackled Cabernet Sauvignon are all wonderful wines too!  Try them and buy them if you can! 

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