100% Chardonnay

Food pairings: Shellfish such as oysters, Dungeness crab and scallops, halibut and other white fish, and lemon-herb roast chicken.

Winemaking: Sebella is fermented in stainless steel with native yeasts only, then aged for six months in neutral French oak barrels. Avoiding new oak keeps the focus on Hanzell's classic minerality, bright fruit and the signature aroma of Chardonnay vines in bloom.

Vineyards and terroir: The wine is 100% estate grown on Hanzell Farm in the Moon Mountain District, from the younger vines of the Zellerbach and Day vineyard blocks, about 17 years old on average. The vines grow at 415 to 600 feet on Red Hill Series volcanic and Raynor-Montara soils, at the southern toe of the Mayacamas Mountains overlooking the Sonoma Valley and San Pablo Bay, and the estate is certified organic.

Family and history: Ambassador James D. Zellerbach founded Hanzell in 1953, naming it after his wife Hana. Inspired by long stays in Burgundy, he planted Chardonnay and Pinot Noir when both were still rare in North America, and with winemaker Brad Webb and viticulturist Ivan Schoch he pioneered temperature-controlled stainless steel fermentation and aging in small French oak barrels in California. After the Day family's stewardship, the de Brye family acquired Hanzell in 1975 and still owns it today. The original Ambassador's 1953 vineyard block is still farmed today.

In the pictures: An old Chardonnay vine at Hanzell Vineyards (photo: Sarah Stierch, 2011, CC BY 4.0). The view over the Sonoma Valley from the Hanzell vineyards (photo: Sarah Stierch, 2011, CC BY 4.0).