Todd Williams of Sonoma’s Toad Hollow Vineyards was never embarrassed to say he made meat loaf wine — every day wine for every day people. He had little use for the wine magazines, and even less use for people who bought wine based on what the wine magazines wrote.
He also produced damn fine wine. The Toad Hollow rose, made with pinot noir, is one of the best $10 wines in the world, and the entire line offers quality and value in a way that few others do. Williams, sadly, died in August, and he will be missed. He loved wine and he loved talking about wine.
What better way to toast Williams, whose nickname was Toad, than with a bottle of his 2006 Toad Hollow Chardonnay ($13, available at the usual suspects, including World Market)? It wasn’t aged in oak, so it’s clean and crisp, with some green apple. It’s perfect on the porch during one of these fine afternoons, or for dinner with any white wine dish.
