Wine Review: Collection highlights winemakers’ dedication while remaining affordable

The name of the winery is The Hess Collection. The name alone is enough to tell you that there is something beyond the ordinary here; and so there is.

The Hess Collection is just that: a collection. A collection of affordable wines that have been made to exacting standards by experienced and dedicated winemakers.

The fruit for these wines comes from a variety of different vineyards located in the some of best growing areas in the state. After crushing, the Hess winemakers ferment the grapes in small individual lots as it helps to maintain the individual nuances of the grapes. The individuality of the fruit, which is derived from the vineyards location, is basic and most important to the production of a better wine.

These small lots allow the winemaker to develop a blend that best exemplifies the variety and the style they are striving for. It is very labor-intensive work but it all comes to fruition with the first sip of a Hess Collection wine. These wines are extraordinary and a compliment to both the vintners, the grape growers and, yes, to the people who buy them.
 
Hess Collection 2016 Select Chardonnay ($13)
Careful growing and small lot fermentation combine to make an exceptional, very typical California-style chardonnay. When the bottle is opened, the aromas of pineapple, pear and lemon blossom with accents of vanilla, caramel and a light and very elegant touch of oak in the background that seem to dance around you. On the palate this medium bodied wine exhibits ripe pear, pineapple and peach in very obvious amounts. The finish is long, fruity and silky smooth. If you have become bored with the look-a-like, taste-a-like chardonnays, this one will definitely un-bore you.
 
Hess Collection 2016 Select Pinot Gris ($13)
Pinot gris, or as it’s lighter bodied cousin is known as, pinot grigio, is a white wine that is currently finding great popularity in the United States. This is a distinctly Californian wine that displays an inviting golden color and the rich aromas of citrus, honeysuckle, apple, pear, and a hint of nectarine. The flavor abounds with the sensation of pear and melon that carry over to the finish, which is long, fruity, and complex. A very noticeable feature of this wine is its mild acid level. All too often an American pinot gris will drown all of its attributes in an overabundance of fruit acid which is not the case with this offering. This delightful wine can accompany most of our summer foods and is a stand out with seafood and shellfish as well as serving as a great aperitif.
 
Hess Collection 2016 Select Sauvignon Blanc ($13)
And now we come to one of the most underrated and underappreciated grape varieties of them all, the sauvignon blanc. For years, a French sauvignon blanc wines under the very oriental name of “wan fu” was passed of as the only wine to accompany oriental food. French wines of the recent past never indicated the grape variety of the wine, so if you ordered “wan fu” in a restaurant you had no idea that it was a sauvignon blanc. Unfortunately, this fine white grape has lived in the shadow of the chardonnay for all too long. Usually relegated to accompany shellfish, this very versatile wine can do a whole lot more. A thread of citrus and melon run through this wine along with fresh spice. The usual crisp acid that makes this wine shellfish compatible is somewhat mitigated, making it a softer wine that can cover a broader spectrum of foods. While it is still the perfect accompaniment for shellfish, this wine can also accompany the lighter poultry dishes as well as mild cheese and salads and of course, in deference to the past, oriental dishes, whose numbers have increased vastly in recent years. Do not sell this wine short, it is a very enjoyable variety that deserves much more recognition than it gets.
 
Wine columnist Bennet Bodenstein can be reached at frojhe1@att.net.