The nose is like buttah. (For those not hip to the slang, that's not an Eastern deity; it's an animal fat.) Sautéed oak chips, pear, apple and tropical fruit all blend in a slightly alcoholic mix of scents.

On the palate, this wine wins you over with its simplicity. It's that same reason why Nilla Wafers are still a favorite cookie and AC/DC is still a successful rock band. The fruit from the nose is all there, as the oak and vanilla liqueur (not sure if vanilla liqueur exists, but if it does, I'm sure that it's in here, and that Mick Fleetwood has abused it).

The finish is way longer than just about any $9 bottle of wine I've ever had. This is an extended-dance-remix finish at used-bin, at a CD-single price!

So, if BV's Coastal can win me over, what's next, a Fleetwood Mac reunion album that gets me begging for a world tour? I'm learning to never say "never," but Mick, Lindsey, Stevie and Christine better first start giving off a lot more vanilla and pear and a lot less "Tusk."

Cheers,
TSW

I have a confession to make: I really, truly, passionately dislike Fleetwood Mac. I know I'm almost supposed to like them, and that albums like "Rumours" are classics, and near requirements for any respectable CD collection. However, there's a big gap in the "F" section of my discs.

Similarly, there's a big gap the "B" section of my wine collection. I love most of what Beaulieu Vineyard bottles, but its entire Coastal collection has left me as cold as a Stevie Nicks solo project. I know I'm supposed to like it (very affordable and accessible), but this staple of the party scene has never inspired me to sing along, until now.

The 2000 chardonnay is a lot of what I look for in a straight-ahead, California-style chardonnay. The color of this white is roughly that of Christine McVeigh's hair after one-too-many nights under the hot stage lights: pale hay.