Wine of the Week: 2007 Kumeu River Estate Chardonnay

2007 Kumeu River Estate Chardonnay

Comes a heat wave and we’re all ready to break out the chilled white wine. Here’s one that will do the trick: a lovely, fine-spun Chardonnay from New Zealand’s Kumeu region northwest of Auckland. At this estate where Michael Brajkovich, New Zealand’s first master of wine, is the winemaker, grapes are harvested by hand and fermented on indigenous yeasts. The result is a Kumeu River Chardonnay that bridges the new and old worlds. Tightly focused, the 2007 has notes of citrus and lovely minerality and texture.

Pour it as an apéritif with a little smoked salmon. It also would be a great match with gently sautéed calamari or a delicate fish.

Region: Kumeu, New Zealand

Price: About $30

Style: Fine-spun and creamy

What it goes with: Smoked fish, sautéed calamari

Where to find it: Hi-Time Wine Cellars in Costa Mesa, (949) 650-8463, https://www.hitimewine.net; L.A. Wine Co. in Marina del Rey, (310) 306-9463, https://www.lawineco.com; Southern Hemisphere Wine Center in Huntington Beach, (800) 504-9463, https://www.southernwines.com; Twenty-Twenty Wine Merchants in West Los Angeles, (310) 447-2020, https://www.2020wines.com; and Wine Exchange in Orange, (714) 974-1454, https://www.winex.com.