Unwooded Chardonnay

When I went to Denmark a few years ago, I discovered that I could finally have a glass of wine! I've tried and tried for years, and only once before had I had any luck being able to drink wine without getting a HEADACHE half a glass later. It was a Blush something or rather that my former in-laws had brought back with them from the States. Of course, couldn't find it up here!

There I go, digressing again! Anyway, so when I got back from Denmark, I took the names of some of the chardonnays with me to our Andrew Hilton Wine Merchants store to find at least one of them. As I was there, ran into one of our clients who was on a buying blitz (man, they drink ALOT of wine!). Telling her of what I had discovered while in Denmark - that there actually IS wine I could drink and that I was trying to find it. The darling woman said that maybe my problem with wine is that I needed to buy an "unwooded" wine. What's that? Well, get this. It's wine that ISN'T stored in oak barrels. Oak, you say? CRAP!! There's that damn allergy again, I bet!

Couldn't find any of the Danish wines, but she showed me an unwooded chardonnay from Australia. Tried that, and FINALLY, I was able to enjoy a glass of wine! Our local liquor store actually carried it, so a few times a year, I could pop in and buy a bottle when company came over.

Last night, thought, since Jim & Kathy were here, and over for a BBQ steak dinner, it was time. Been at least 6 months since I had bought any. DAMNED. They didn't have it!!

AHA! But... the manager pulled out an "unoaked" wine. Well, that sounds like it could be the same thing. So I ended up with an Unoaked Sauvignon Blanc, by Naked Grape. YES!! First smell, first little swallow, and I knew! It's drinkable! (that's how quickly I can tell!) Whew. It's a decent wine, so I'm a happy camper! Good to know, that's for sure.

When I try to find anything about someone having allergies to the oak, all it comes up with is that Sulfites or Histamines are the culprits. Maybe so, but I'm going with the fact that it's the OAK barrels, the actual WOOD, that is the problem. Especially with my history of strange plant allergies!

So all is right with the world again....