A couple years ago I wrote about the recent trend in California’s Napa Valley towards a more restrained style of white winemaking. (Meet Napa’s Slimmed Down White Wines). Winemakers, aware of their consumers’ changing tastes, have been veering away from the so-called butter bombs of the late 1980s and ‘90s, and moving towards lighter, less oaky, more food-friendly white wines. However, these “new style” wines are not so new. They are, in fact, quite reminiscent of Napa whites made in the 1960s and ‘70s when oak barrel aging was rarely used for white wine.

For one winery, this return to a light-handed approach is business as usual. Trefethen Family Vineyards, located in the Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley, has been making crisp, balanced Chardonnays for nearly 50 years. “As a family, we all really like brighter wines with nice acidity that are refreshing,” says Hailey Trefethen, third generation of the family-owned winery. “It's been our style all the way through.”

A History of Zippy Acidity

Trefethen began making Chardonnay in 1973, when oak barrels were primarily used in Napa to age and soften tannic red wines, while most whites spent their time before bottling in stainless steel. “We grew up, so to speak, with having a lighter hand.” says Trefethen. And while she acknowledges that there were a couple of years where they “flirted” with some malolactic fermentation (a process that de-acidifies wine), the family’s preference has always been for brighter wines with refreshing acidity. “The market was demanding it at the time, but it really wasn’t us,” she says.

Hailey Trefethen with 10+ foot tall sunflowers on the property of her family’s winery. Photo: @trefethenfamily on Instagram. — **Hailey Trefethen with 10+ foot tall sunflowers on the property of her family’s winery.** *Photo: @trefethenfamily on Instagram.*

Chardonnay vineyards. Photo: @trefethenfamily on Instagram — **Chardonnay vineyards.** *Photo: @trefethenfamily on Instagram*

The winery’s location, in the Oak Knoll District at the southern end of the valley, has temperatures up to 20 degrees cooler than Napa’s more northerly appellations, thereby making it easier to produce crisp white wines. “We get this nice marine layer that comes from the San Pablo Bay and sits over us,” says Trefethen. “And we have up to 50 degree temperature swings daily, with very cool nights that let the grapes maintain their acidity.” This racy acidity allows the wine to remain vibrant for decades. In fact, one of the Trefethen family’s favorite things to do is pour people their 30, 40, even the nearly 50 year old Chardonnays to show how alive they still are.

Napa Mountain Views from trefethen Family Vineyards. Photo: lisa Denning. — **Napa Mountain Views from trefethen Family Vineyards.** *Photo: lisa Denning.*

Picking the grapes at the right time also keeps that characteristic freshness. The winery’s 13 different clones of Chardonnay plantings, while lending great complexity to the wine, need to be carefully tended and picked at the optimal point of ripeness to ensure great flavor development without forgoing any acidity. “Everything with wine is a balance, a little bit here, a little bit there,” says Trefethen. “The Dijon clones are used to cooler temperatures and don’t maintain their acidity quite as well in the hot California sun, so we pick those grapes earlier.”

Pairing the Trefethen Chardonnay with a meal is a food and wine lover’s delight. The bright citrus notes makes the wine light enough to have with vegetables, salads, and cheeses, or simply grilled or sautéed fish like Lake Fish With Lemon Caper Sauce. Yet the Chardonnay grape’s inherent weight gives the wine just enough heft to manage a creamy pasta like White Vegetable Lasagna, as well as Herbes de Provence Chicken With Onions, Peppers and Tomatoes and Roast Pork Loin With Apples. This wine, with its bright, lemony fruit essence is great with sushi too.