Folks, this is a California butterball oak bomb Chardonnay-and a fine example, as such. If that’s your thing, this is the cream. The fruit, after all, comes from Dutton Ranch in the Russian River Valley, home to some of today’s best California Chardonnays; if not in the mood or don’t care for the style, 
save it for a rainy day, or somebody else’s rainy day. The Dutton-Goldfield 2007 Russian River Valley Chardonnay ($35) comes on big with an aroma of charred oak, honeysuckle, and burnt popcorn with extra butter. It’s a deceptively light, yellow-green hue in the glass, plush and yielding on first sip, with custard and apple meringue (if there is such a thing-the lemon notes just don’t pop). The mouthfeel is viscous but surprisingly buoyant given all the pomp and noise of the aroma, and the finish is rich and not hot like lesser Chards of the genre.
There’s fresh apple, there’s baked apple; then there’s fire-roasted, butter sautéed, was-apple; all can be delicious, but it is a great food pairing challenge. At first I tried an appetizer of Redwood Hill chèvre, but it overpowered the goat cheese. So I consulted a local expert. Chef Duskie Estes of Zazu Restaurant & Farm suggests a rich, fried dish-that’s also a daily vegetable serving!-that just might do the trick.
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Cauliflower FRITTI, FRITTI, FRITTI + truffle aioli
serves 6 or more
1 head cauliflower, cut into bite size florets
2 Meyer lemons, sliced thin (or substitute, regular lemons sliced thin and soaking in simple syrup)
12 sage leaves
peanut or rice oil for the fryer
for the aioli:
1 egg
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 cup pure olive oil
2 teaspoons truffle oil
kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
for the beer batter:
1 beer
1 cup flour
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
To make the aioli, in a food processor, combine the egg, lemon juice, and garlic. In a steady stream, slowly add in the olive oil. Slowly add in the truffle oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper
to make the beer batter, in a small bowl, combine the flour, cornstarch and all but one sip of beer. Hmmm. What to do with the beer?
Set up your deep fat fryer and heat oil to 350. Coat the cauliflower and lemons in beer batter and carefully deep fry until golden, a minute or so. Drain on paper towels and drop sage leaves in fryer for a few seconds. Drain on paper towels. Place everything in paper cones and set on a plate with a ramekin of aioli.
