Good Boy - 'Chardogay' - Chardonnay - Santa Barbara County, CA - 2023

If Cher were a wine, they would be Chardogay! Yes, you've had Chardonnay, but not like this. This is a gorgeous (and active) sparkling pét-nat wine, with fine bubbles that last, both in the bottle and on the palate. It tastes like a tropical vacation (think resort piña coladas and your favorite sunscreen). And, it's grown up and refined, so even your mama will like it (we promise)!

Grapes: 100% Chardonnay

Region: Rancho Alamos, Los Alamos

Production: Direct-pressed, capped while still fermenting for natural bubbles, absolutely zero So2 added during production. Racked twice. Unfined and unfiltered.

Style: Zippy white pét nat, Blanc de Blancs but with more Cher

Tasting notes: Resort piña coladas, sugared brioche, spring citrus blooms

Food pairings: Rich cheese, Mediterranean Kabobs, olives, mezze platters

ABV: 12%

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The Project Good Boy is all about embracing contradiction: A French-inspired approach to winemaking, centered on California grapes, helmed by an Australian and a native of the Gulf Coast. The mixed metaphor ethos runs deeper than that, though. The wine, itself, is produced exclusively with organic and biodynamic grapes sourced from CA’s Central coast, and a commitment to low-intervention farming and bottling practices (yes, we admit, a little sulfur in bottling…it’s for your own good, we swear). Au contraire, the brand is all about curation: Collaborations with contemporary artists, of-the-moment graphic design, Good Boy-hosted pool parties with live DJ sets, celeb partnerships, the list goes on. In short, it’s low-intervention meets high curation. The Wine These aren’t wines to be cellared and upsold at Sotheby’s in two decades. They’re wines to open right now, with friends, outside. They’re vehicles of presence: alive, loud, adventurous – and they taste just as good paired with live music and a dancefloor as they do with French bistrot staples at a candlelit supper. Think of these bottles as easy drinking, for sophisticated palates. They’re inclusive, new age, avant-garde – but with no disrespect to tradition. Long story long, they’re well worth their space at any table…be it a picnic table, a white cloth two-top, or a front stoop. The History Good Boy was born — as is so often the case with first-generation, experimental winemakers — in a basement. That said, unlike most basements, the subterranean space where Eric Bach & Dave Bourke kicked off the project came with a convenient edge: An old permit, peeling at the edges, dating back to the ‘50s when the facilities had been used by an Italian family to — you guessed it — make wine. The Good Boy team formed in the interest of making wine that they wanted to drink – while giving proper air time to some of the beautiful, organic fruit grown right in the Los Angeles area. So, with respect to local produce, sustainable farming, and low-intervention, sustainability-forward vinification – and a brief stint spent harvesting with mentors in France’s Ardeche region – a wine label was born. Now, having graduated to a new, state-of-the-art facility in the Santa Ynez Valley (made famous for its 2004 appearance in Sideways with Paul Giamatti), Good Boy is producing ~2600 cases a year, and the team has nearly tripled in size. And even as their roster of cuvées grows in number (and sophistication), their commitment to sustainability, and local fruit is just as steadfast as ever. Only now, they’re not the only folks drinking their wines: The stuff can be found across L.A., San Francisco, and New York City. Basement wine, all grown up.