I’m writing this at the Windmill motel in Buellton (yes the one from Sideways) and tucking into a glass of superb Chardonnay from Au Bon Climat (posts about both to come soon!) so it just has to be California Chardonnay all the way this week… well what else can I write about??

It wasn’t until the 1960’s that California recovered from Prohibition and got itself back on the world wine atlas; it is reported there were less that 130 wineries in operation when Prohibition was repealed in 1933. It took a while for the Californians to rebuild from almost scratch but in 1976, at the Judgement of Paris, everything would change forever. Chateau Montelena’s 1973 beat off competition from Beaune, Puligny, Meursault and the Grand Cru Batard-Montrachet to take first place in the battle of white wines and the world started to take notice again. If you haven’t seen the…