Her Wave, Her Year
TASTING NOTES: “The 2023 Barrel Blend has beautiful aromas of apricot, pear, honeysuckle and orange meringue pie. On the palate, an initial roundness is balanced by natural acidity along with a hint of oak that merges with flavors of stone fruit and apple. The multiple layers, intriguing character and long finish has this wine screaming to be paired with Thai food, grilled chicken or fish tacos. 2023 marks the inaugural production of a white wine produced under the Barrel Blend label, which is in the Hill Family Estate portfolio of wines. With bounteous crops and excellent weather, we were able to preserve the acidity and freshness of our white varieties. During blending sessions this combination came out a winner, pleasing everyone with the zippy acidity of the Albarino and the rich fruit from our Chardonnay sites. Lovely aromatics from Sauvignon Blanc, Muscat Canelli, Viognier, and Semillon completed the blend and made it worthy of the surfing talent of Moana Jones Wong, who is featured on the label riding an epic wave at the famed Pipeline surf break in Oahu!” (AbV 14.58%, pH 3.43, TA 7.0)
VARIETALS: 61% Chardonnay, 15% Albarino, 14% Sauvignon Blanc, 5% Muscat Canelli, 3% Viognier and 2% Semillon
BARRELS: 9 months in 62% in neutral French oak barrels and 38% in stainless steel barrels
PAIRS WITH: Thai food, grilled chicken or fish tacos
THAT REMINDS ME OF: Moana Jones Wong — the surfer on the label, riding Pipeline.
Pipeline is one of the most dangerous waves on Earth and also, somehow, one of the most photogenic. It breaks over a shallow reef off the North Shore of Oahu with such mechanical regularity that it almost seems designed for cameras, which is probably why it has been the most-photographed surf spot in the world for about fifty years running. The wave jacks up fast, throws a thick lip, and creates a barrel — a hollow tube of moving water that surfers can ride inside — that is roughly the shape of a perfect cylinder. It is beautiful and it will absolutely kill you.
Moana Jones Wong won the first-ever World Surf League Championship Tour event held at Pipeline open to women, in January 2023. For most of its competitive history, Pipeline was a men’s-only event; women weren’t on the schedule there at all. Wong, who grew up surfing the North Shore and has been riding Pipeline since she was a kid, won it in front of a home crowd. She was 22. The photo on this label, then, is not just a surfer on a wave — it’s a specific person, on her wave, the year she made history on it.
I find this genuinely moving, which is not something I expected to type about a Napa white blend today.
ICYMI, you have two choices:
- Worried Summer heat might get to your wine before your wine gets to you? Order from the sale linked here, and we’ll get it to you at a cooler time of year!
- Want it shipped now? Every package during the summer will have protected temp control ground shipping for much of the country that takes longer but will ensure safe delivery. Expect up to two weeks for delivery. Now through the September 12th offer.
