Isabella Gold
If you came across a Chardonnay defiantly billed as sweet, that’s a central character in a seductive romance-fantasy novella full of wine-making, time-traveling, and virginity-losing, and comes complete with a screw cap no less, odds are you would walk on by — fast.
But husband-and-wife Paul Morrison and Carol Morrison are betting that you don’t.
Their Isabella Gold ($19.99) is the first sweet Chardonnay under their JL Wood brand that makes only Chardonnay from grapes grown on their 125-acre in the Arroyo Seco AVA in Monterey County.
I had a chance to try a sample of this intriguing wine that comes in a distinctive cobalt bottle adorned with a label of a winged woman.
Fermented entirely in stainless steel, it contains no added sugars. Yes, the sweetness of this wine comes entirely naturally from the grapes. It’s not as sweet as you might fear. It’s certainly not on the same level as soda or a bona fide dessert wine. Light gold in color, the wine is instead more like a balanced white sangria — easy drinking and fruity. It has notes of apple, pear, and even a hint of apricot.
It’s meant to be enjoyed chilled straight, over ice, or in cocktails. At 11.1 percent alcohol by volume, it’s especially enjoyable on a hot summer day. It would be lovely as an aperitif. Or enjoyed alongside chips & salsa, Chinese chicken salad, Vietnamese mango-shrimp salad, or chicken, shrimp or fish tacos.
Like many wine grape growers and winemakers, the Morrisons have felt the ravages of the downturn in wine consumption. Isabella Gold is their attempt to reach a younger, and more female-oriented clientele. Hence, the accompanying novella, “The Evil in the Shadows and the Rebirth of Isabella Gold,” written by Paul Morrison and D. Walker. (See Jess Lander’s fine story in the San Francisco Chronicle.)
Is it a Hail Mary? Only time will tell. What’s certain is that the wine and book together make for one heck of a debut.
Cheers: The Morrisons actually grew up together in the Salinas Valley. Paul’s family grew fresh vegetables that they sold commercially while Carol’s family grew grains and stone fruit, and raised sheep. While students at the University of California at Berkeley Business School, the two of them often would trek to the Napa Valley for wine tasting at a time when tastings were still free. Even back then, Paul gravitated to sweet wines. Ironically, though, he was initially dismissive of Chardonnay, and never ordered it. That changed when he traveled through Europe and discovered its charms there. When he and his wife took over her family’s ranch in 2015, he went all in on Chardonnay.
2025 Quinta Souto Florão
Portugal may produce far more red wine than wIhite, but that doesn’t mean the latter should be overlooked.
On the contrary, if you’re a fan of mineral-driven white wines like I am, then put the 2025 Quinta Souto Florão on your radar.
The wine, of which I received a sample, is made by Symington Family Estates, which has been making wine in the Douro Valley for five generations.
In 2017, it acquired the high-altitude Quinta da Fonte Souto property that’s 500 meters above sea level and located within the São Mamede National Park. It is Symington’s first property outside the Douro region, and valued for its cooler climate, an increasingly valuable asset given Europe’s increasingly torrid summers.
In fact, to safeguard against the heat, the grapes for this 2025 vintage were picked at night, the first time Symington has done so.
A blend of 75 percent Arinto and 25 percent Verdelho, both native Portuguese grapes, it is fermented in stainless steel at low temperatures. The result is a lively wine fragrant of lime and limestone that’s fresh tasting with lively acidity. It’s wonderfully grassy and minerally, with notes of green melon, and lemon and lime zests.
This is the wine you want alongside simple grilled seafood, preferably eaten on the beach or in your backyard. And at $21 a bottle (even less at some retailers), you might want to invest in a stash to make summer last just that much longer.
Cheers: The Symington family also produces about one-third of the world’s premium port as owners of Graham’s, Dow’s, Warre’s, and Cockburn’s. The leading vineyard owner in the Douro Valley (a Unesco World Heritage site), the company has donated an ambulance to different volunteer fire brigades in the valley for the past 11 years.
Plus: More Summery Sips
And: Summer Sips