OK, let’s get htis out of the way: Cooper’s Hawk runs a restaurant chain that features its own wines. That will turn off the snobs, but damn, the wines are good.

“Lux” is fantastic and complex for the otherwise boring Chardonnay breed. Readers of this blog know I am not a chardy-fan, so that’s saying a lot. Potent fruit and floral flavors crash together nicely, and allow this to stand up to powerful spicy dishes. We paired with chicken and pickled vegetables and the wine worked very well.