I spent my last post gushing all about Hella Chenin in my new series, Wine Festivals Worth the Trip.
This post is dedicated to five of my favorite wines of the week (with some lagniappe). It was difficult to narrow down my top wines as everything was truly so delicious and admittedly, I am such a huge fan of Chenin Blanc. I pulled this list from wines I tasted throughout the week of Hella Chenin events.
So, in no particular order, here are the wines I’m looking forward to stocking my wine refrigerator with:
Ridge’s 2025 Chenin Blanc is coming from the Clarksburg AVA. It’s 100% chenin with about 12 hours of skin contact prior to a full press and fermentation. This wine took me by surprise: I didn’t pick up a lot of aromas on the nose but as soon as I took my first sip I was wowed. This wine is like a tropical party in your mouth without a syrupy feel. I tasted notes of grilled apricot and charred pineapple, mango, as well as some uplifting florals. The acidity balances out the tropical flavors and makes for a delicious chenin blanc that can be paired with fish tacos or a variety of dips.
I stumbled upon Matt Crutchfield’s Hella Chenin event partially by accident. Some of my grad school friends planned a dinner right next to a wine bar where Matt was pouring his wine, Arcana (which is such a cool space – highly recommend checking it out). Anyway, I tasted through four of Matt’s really unique and delicious wines. I fell in love with the “I’m Mixed,” which is 50% chenin blanc and 50% cortese. I tend to be a cortese hater tbh as I find it to be a bit bland (sorry Gavi), but I loved this wine from the first sip. I tasted notes of a freshly picked green apple, ripe honeydew, with some floral notes. It’s so smooth and round but still has great acidity. I would love to drink this with anything fresh: a substantial salad or crudite with dips.
While I tasted the Landmass Chenin Blanc toward the end of the day, I was lucky that my local wine shop (shout out to Neighborhood Wines in Boston) was pouring it the week after I returned from Hella Chenin. I love this wine because despite being so fruity, the acid is punchy and provides the perfect balance. There are strong aromatics on the nose with ripe melon, apricot, and quince on the palate. There is an underlying minerality as well. I think that this wine would go so well with a salty cheese board (feta, gouda, goat cheese) as well as grilled fish.
I am so incredibly excited about Teffy wines! The 2025 Chenin Blanc is their first vintage and it is so good. The grapes are coming from Santa Ynez Valley, in Santa Barbara County. This wine has a very tropical and honied nose with notes of pink lady apple, bruleed grapefruit, guava, and lemon peel. It’s a bottle of wine that I look forward to having at summer events and pairing with homemade pizza and burrata platters.
I was lucky enough to try this one at both the trade tasting as well as the festival and it is INCREDIBLE. This wine is a blend of 60% Chenin Blanc, 28% Grenache Blanc, and small percentages of Chardonnay and Roussanne. Not to be dramatic, but my mouth honestly salivates when I think about this wine. This cape blend is aged on lees giving it a richness and creaminess with a bright acid to balance out the wine. There are notes of white peach, apricot, ripe pear while the Roussanne brings a beautiful floral note. I would bring this wine to any potluck/ cookout/ dinner party I attend because I think it’s such a crowd pleaser that would pair well with most foods. If you’re in the US and would like to buy this wine, you can do so here!
Lagniappe (a little something extra, for those who haven’t lived in Louisiana)
I tasted two Pax wines at the Hella Chenin event at Saison (a great wine bar in SF). Helios, their entry level Chenin Blanc quite honestly blew me away. There were immediate notes of a freshly picked red apple during fall, a bit of floral notes, apricot, peach, as well as a hint of citrus and wet stone. It’s giving California’s take on a Loire chenin. This wine could easily be sipped alone while chatting with friends but also has the body to stand up to many foods.
Okay, so, as a Virginia wine gal, I’m obsessed with Viognier. When I first tasted the Rall White, there was a certain familiarity to the wine. Come to find out there is a bit of Viognier in the wine. This blend is about 69% Chenin Blanc, 29% Verdelho, and a touch of Viognier. This wine was fascinating: there are typical Chenin characteristics including apricot and citrus (grapefruit, lime) but the Verdelho and Viognier both brought a pleasant oiliness to the wine with a touch of honeysuckle in the background. Similar to many South African wines, I would pair this wine with grilled seafood, a grilled caesar salad, as well as a citrus forward dish. This is yet another wine I’m looking forward to drinking for the rest of 2026. Rall’s website is under construction so I linked the wine’s feature page from Culture Wine Co, where US people can buy this wine!
That’s my round up for the Hella Chenin Edition of diversifying your wine fridge! I hope you’re able to grab some of the wines and remember that a diverse wine fridge is the best kind.
Read all about why you should go to Hella Chenin in 2027 here and check out my instagram here for more content!
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