Sighs (of despair and relief)

I'm screwed now. Or rather, my bank account might be, thanks to my beloved life partner's new ardor for chardonnay.

Not just any chardonnay, but rather the kind they make in Burgundy, which tend to be on the pricey side.

During our years of sampling together, Sandy had developed a major distaste for domestic chards that had any hint of butter or oak. She liked some of the unoaked or "naked" bottles that have been popping up in recent years. I actually believe the (over)ripeness of the fruit was a problem for her as well, but whatever the factors, the cocktail of elements that  are found in West Coast chardonnays simply did not suit her.

So in one tiny respect, going to Burgundy and sampling the Chablis and Chassagne-Montrachet and Corton-Charlemagne was a mistake, as now my way better half has a new love on the viniferous front.

But then, so do I. Now if we could just start getting even a fraction of tasting samples from Burgundy that we do from these shores ...

Which brings me to the good news: My palate has not been irreparably spoiled by our 15 days of French wines. My friend and traveling companion Joe and I talked a good bit about the possibility of coming home having lost our ardor for big, extracted wines, not only from the West Coast but also Spain, Australia and South America.

For me, that would mean not being able to do my job as a critic; I need to be able to judge wines with as little prejudice as possible. For both of us, it would have meant cellars full of wine that we had lost any excitement about drinking.

So it was with some trepidation that I sampled a handful of $10-$25 California cabs the other day. Best I could tell, my judging faculties hadn't changed. I liked some of the wines OK, thought a few were over-ripe and didn't love anything -- pretty much the same assessment I had had in similar tastings over the summer.

I just talked to Joe, and he was relieved to have had the same experience, even enjoying a a massive Aussie shiraz.

Looks like our only prejudices will be toward the fresh and lively and acidic Burgundies we enjoyed over there, not against wines made in different places and styles.