Working from home during COVID-19 has been a mixed bag. On the one hand, it’s great to be home with my family. On the other, I can never get away from that list of home improvement projects. From my desk at the dining room table, the chipped trim paint on the doorway taunts me. The missing French door reminds me it’s still half-stripped in the garage, waiting to be stained and finished.

The only escape is to leave town. Which we did recently, to the beaches of Delaware, where we relaxed and enjoyed these great bottles from ZD Wines, including the addition of a new varietal to their lineup, Sauvignon Blanc.

2019 Sauvignon Blanc, Napa Valley (SRP $27)

This wine is perfect for a hot day at the beach. (Our day was cool and windy). Not wanting to get hassled by any beach patrollers, I poured half the bottle into a clear glass flip-top container. And there it sat, discreetly in the sand next to me as I reclined and read. As you’d expect, it’s nice and tart. It has tropical notes and reminds me of canned pineapple, minus the tinny, can taste. I also get white peach on the nose.

This is a very nice, lower-priced bottle from a quality producer. A great beach wine.

2018 50th Anniversary Reserve Chardonnay, Carneros (SRP $75)

I freakin’ love pork belly. We’ve been getting our meat from a local farm this summer and I asked them to put some pork belly in our monthly share, and they obliged. I made it crispy and golden, with saltiness and some great unctuousness to pair with this ZD Chardonnay, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite Chardonnays.  

It’s golden in the glass, with Honeycrisp apple and crushed pineapple on the nose. I taste some beautiful butter (despite the fact it doesn’t go through ML) and lychee at the end. The mouthfeel is creamy, with a tingle of acidity, with no alcohol bite. Simply put, this wine is rich yet zesty. It beautifully straddles the line between acid and creaminess. I still can’t believe there’s no ML, but I’m guessing the extended yeast contact during cold-barrel fermentation gives it its creamy almost butteriness.

2018 Founder’s Reserve Pinot Noir, Carneros (SRP $84)

The first thing I notice with this Pinot is the color. It’s deep and dark with a red rim, and reminds me of cherry coke. You can’t see through this one, and it certainly doesn’t look thin. The nose is like a handful of cranberries, with some “green” hints that anyone who’s enjoyed Long Island reds will recognize. Although not quite the bell pepper aromas you get out near the Hamptons.

When I take a hearty mouthful, there’s great side-of-the-tongue-coating acidity, and the wine lingers well enough to get a proper taste. There’s vanilla. And then something that my wife said reminded her of wines with notable ML. I love the use of oak in this wine. It’s there, but not overdone. Just great, juicy acidity. A darn good vanilla berry combo.