2023 Fess Parker - Chardonnay Parker West Sta. Rita Hills (750ml)

Fess Parker Winery traces back to 1988, when actor Fess Parker, known for playing Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone on screen, purchased a 714-acre ranch in the Foxen Canyon area of Santa Barbara County. What began as a plan to raise cattle and sell a few grapes soon grew into a full family winery, planted first with an experimental Riesling vineyard in 1989. Now run by three generations of the Parker family, with winemaker Blair Fox guiding production, the estate has built a reputation for small-lot, vineyard-designated wines drawn from some of the county's most respected sites.

Parker West Vineyard is the family's westernmost planting, set on sandy, windswept hillside soils just a few miles from the cold Pacific Ocean within the Sta. Rita Hills. That marine influence keeps the growing season long and cool, allowing Chardonnay to develop complexity while retaining natural acidity. The fruit is hand harvested and fermented with an eye toward balance, aged in a mix of French oak to add structure without masking the site's characteristic brightness.

The 2023 Parker West Chardonnay offers generous notes of lemon cream, yellow peach, and golden apple, layered with toasty oak and vanilla. Bright, refreshing acidity keeps the wine lively through a long finish. It pairs well with pan-seared sea bass, roast chicken, or a lemony cream pasta.