My sister and her husband gave us a bottle of Childress Vineyards Christmas Candle 2005 Chardonnay. It is a big buttery, oakey chard in the Australian mode. While it says North Carolina on the front label and made in North Carolina on the back label, there is nothing that says the fruit is from North Carolina. I suspect if may not be from North Carolina but maybe, just maybe, Childress and winemaker Mark Friszolowski are better than we suspect and the grapes are from NC.
Richard Childress is a NASCAR team owner. I use to see him "race" modifies at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem when I was just a wee tyke. He has a beautiful winery just outside Lexington, NC. It is on par with many wineries in Sonoma or Napa for beauty. The label features a Christmas Candle picture painted by area star artist Bob Timberlake. It is a marketing masterpiece. I feel over marketed.
This wine is on par with some of the best Australian big bold chardonnay's of the 1990s but not the crisp, french, unoaked chardonnays that so many wineries are turning out now. My sister received this wine as a part of Childress' wine club. I searched Childress' website and could not find a price for this wine, so I cannot tell you the value it offers. I can tell you that you should keep you eye on Childress for offering great North Carolina wines.
Finally a true NC Wine critic! We are very curious about the prospects of NC wine making. Do you know if they grow the Shiraz grape? This would be interesting to know as it is our favorite.
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