Happy National Chardonnay Day
In honor of National Chardonnay day I thought I would put a little bit information out there for the “world’s favorite white wine”.
Chardonnay is an extremely versatile grape. Ranging from the buttery, oaked chardonnays to crisp, green apple chardonnays. Don’t believe me? Just take a look at the plethora of flavors one can find!
Typical Flavors:
Fruit: Lemon, Apple, Pear, Pineapple, Passionfruit, Fig, Peach
Flowers/Herbs: Apple Blossom, Celery Leaf, Honeysuckle, Jasmine
Earth/Minerals: Wet flint rocks, Salty
Other: Almond, Beeswax, Lemon balm, Lemon Zest, Citrus Peel
Oak: Vanilla, Baked Tart, Butter, Pie Crust, Caramelized Sugar, Crème Brulee, Dill, Coconut, Praline
This wide spectrum of flavors is just as much about the climate the grape is grown in (hot vs cold) as the way the wine is made (oak vs no oak).
So how is one suppose to know what is actually in the bottle? Here is a quick list of what wine regionstypically produce what styles.
Unoaked Chardonnay:
Sonoma Coast, California
Western Australia
Loire and Chablis, France
Colchagua and Casablanca Valley, Chile
Oregon
Oaked Chardonnay:
Southern & Eastern Australia
Napa Valley, Paso Robles and Lake County in California
Mendoza Argentina
Burgundy, France (Puligny-Montrachet, Meursault and Mâconnais)
Puglia, Italy
So now that you know where to find that perfect bottle of Chardonnay, why not grab a bottle and invite over your friends to toast the world’s most versatile white wine grape!
Sources www.winefolly.com The Sommelier Prep Course by Michael Gibson
