The purity, restraint, and invigorating layers of today’s exclusive Chardonnay offer are the hallmarks of cellar wizard Kenny Likitprakong. Although mostly known for his critical darlings under the Ghostwriter label, Kenny has spent two decades crafting superlative bottles under a variety of names and top vineyard sites, all at a price that everyone can enjoy. Without question, his projects have blossomed to become some of California’s most diverse and exciting—today’s must be added to the forefront. 

This 2018 North Coast Chardonnay comes from Kenny’s newest project, The Roseland Wine Company, which was exclusively produced for boutique restaurants...and now us. Kenny’s sustainable farming sources and non-interventionist methods combine for a particularly transparent glass of vino—a light, squeaky clean, mouthwateringly mineral Chardonnay fine-tuned for undemanding drinkers and food. In fact, many of Kenny’s wines are created with the explicit intention to pair with Thai food (a nod to his heritage), and today’s crisp Chardonnay will happily accompany some pillowy scallop cakes fried in peanut oil. The recipe is below, but don’t forget to secure your wine before daydreaming about the combination—there’s only so much Roseland to go around, and once it’s gone, it’s gone for good! 

Kenny has been pushing the boundaries of winemaking since he was a Viticulture and Enology student at UC Davis, seeking inspiration on the campus’ organic farm. There, he made a wine he called Côte de Fumier or banks of manure,” a facetious bottling that laid the groundwork for the fiercely unconventional wines he’s crafted ever since. First an avid skateboarder and snowboarder, then a poet, and finally a winemaker, Kenny’s perspective on Californian wine is delightfully clear-eyed and straightforward. More than any other Californian winemaker, he’s been able to consistently produce a wide range of wines that are natural, delicious, and inexpensive.

Kenny works in his family-owned and operated winery based in an old warehouse in Santa Rosa’s historic Roseland neighborhood. The move allowed Kenny complete autonomy and agency over winemaking and production. All of Kenny’s wines remain true to character and origin, are low in alcohol, and feature pronounced freshness/acidity. He prefers cool temperatures in both growing conditions and fermentation, and he usually blends grapes from many different parcels, such as today’s Chardonnay. He stitched together many different small lots of fruit from exceptional growers scattered across the North Coast of California for this 2018. It was produced without the addition of commercial yeast, malolactic bacteria, or any additives (other than small amounts of sulfur), and the winery itself is run on 100% local renewable energy. Kenny’s dogmatic vision of sustainability forms a closed-loop from vineyard to cellar.

While Roseland Wine Co.’s wines are destined primarily for restaurants, we siphoned off a small parcel from a notable San Francisco establishment after falling in love during a chance tasting. The majority of Kenny’s wines are wildly avant-garde, but this Chardonnay drinks like I wish all $25 wines would—pure, unfussy, and remarkably delicious. It has a particularly lean flavor profile but abundant aromatics reminiscent of salted lemon peel, raw hazelnuts, white flowers, and crushed rock. The palate is bright and focused with under-ripe pear, sea spume, green apple, white peach, and a hint of cut grass. The finish is long and slightly piquant, deliciously refreshing, and ideally suited for the aforementioned scallop cakes, piping hot and lightly spicy. Each bite and sip is a genre-bending adventure that makes you rethink the limitations of Californian Chardonnay. Enjoy!