Something to Wine About: Palmer Pinot Blanc 2019

Need an easy drinking white wine to have on hand? The Palmer Vineyards Pinot Blanc 2019 is a perfect wine to keep in stock. Clean and fresh with floral and tropical notes, this is a super pairable wine. Of course, it can be enjoyed with pasta in light sauces, chicken, seafood, salads and quiche, but this lovely wine also pairs well with pizza, burgers and chips. This is a light- to medium-bodied white with a crisp and balanced, but not overly acidic, finish.

Winemaker Kareem Massoud was especially pleased with the weather and its effects on the 2019 pinot blanc crop. He says, “September’s gorgeous dry, sunny weather and cool nights made 2019 into a vintage to remember.”

This wine was fermented entirely in stainless steel to preserve the varietal character of the fruit and spent three months on its lees before bottling.

Lees are leftover yeast particles in wine. Leaving a wine on its lees gives the wine a weightier feel and a creamier texture. Interesting to note: By law, Champagne must spend 12 months on lees. In the case of Champagne, that time on the lees happens in the bottle, and with longer time on lees, flavors like shortbread and brioche are often imparted into the wine. With shorter times on lees, it’s more about adding texture and complexity, and less about imparting flavors.

The added texture and body are what make this very quaffable wine so amenable to combinations of foods outside the realm of expected white wine pairings. Palmer Pinot Blanc 2019 retails for just $27.

Learn more about Palmer Vineyards and their wines at palmervineyards.com.