Chardonnay 101

How popular is Chardonnay? Popular enough to have sparked a backlash, like the ABC Club – Anything But Chardonnay. Almost without question Chardonnay is the world’s greatest white wine. With characteristics ranging from citrus and green apple in cool climates to pear, tropical fruit and fig in warmer areas, this classic white wine grape of Burgundy, has become a worldwide favorite.

Growing Regions:
Chardonnay grows in nearly every wine producing area in the world but it shines in Burgundy, France. The french versions are often described as being more restrained and higher in acidity. Burgundy produces Chardonnay under many local place names such as Chablis, Pouilly-Fuissé and Meursault as well as wines with Montrachet in the name and in Champagne it turns into Blanc de Blancs. Among the many other countries that have caught Chardonnay fever America, Australia and Chile are standouts.

Style Variations:
Chardonnay styles can vary dramatically based on origin and winemaker. When well made, Chardonnay offers bold, ripe, rich and intense fruit flavors of apple, fig, melon, pear, peach, pineapple, lemon and grapefruit, along with spice, honey, butter, butterscotch and hazelnut flavors. Winemakers build more complexity into this easy-to-manipulate wine using common vinification techniques: Look for the following words on Chardonnay labels: barrel fermented (which imparts toasty oak flavors); cold fermented (which preserves fresh, youthful fruit flavors); and lees contact or sur lie (increasing the contact time between the lees, or sediment, and the wine to add complexity and richness).

Food Pairings:
Pair Chardonnay in the leaner Burgundian style with roasted chicken or seafood; the more voluptuous New World Chardonnay can match the buttery richness of pasta dishes made with cream or cheese, with lobster or other rich seafood.Caution: Chardonnay can be hard to match with food if it is high in alcohol (13-14%) or has a lot of oak flavor creating a heavier weight and body. Spicy food tends to accentuate the alcohol and oak in the wine and usually are not pleasant together.

As Cabernet Sauvignon is the king of reds, so is Chardonnay the king of white wines making consistently excellent, rich and complex whites. This is an amazingly versatile grape as it grows well in a variety of locations throughout the world and creates widely varied wines.