Chardonnay

Chardonnay is a green skinned grape variety used to make wine. It originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but it is grown wherever wine is produced, starting from England to New Zealand. Chardonnay grapes are relatively hardy to survive in a variety of environments. Chardonnays have also become very popular, probably the most popular of all white wines today.Another eason why Chardonnay does so well is that is an agressive plant, Quickly growing very large leaves to take in the sun's energy.

The Chardonnay grape itself is very neautral, with many of the flavors commonly associated with the grape being derived from such influences as terrior and oak, fresh fruit flavors of apple, pear, tropical and citrus, melon. In general Chardonnay produces wines, which are dry to medium dry. 

If You like the idea of butter in your glass, you'll love the classic style of oak aged Chardonnay wine, but if something like Pinot Grigio make you feel attempted, than unoaked kind of Chardonnay is perfect for you.

It's mysterious how can a single grape offer us such a variety of flavors?

Well, in addition to the difference in winemaking - oak vs. non oak, ripeness has a lot to do with flawor. A very ripe Chardonnay will have flavors more towards tropical fruits like pineapple, guava or mango. But barely ripe Chardonnay will have green apple and even lemon flavors.

The smell of vanilla, butter, coconut and dill are all atributes of oak aging, however, the texture that some Chardonnays have, can be described as Oily, Creamy, Waxy, Buttery, .... Textures like this are from special kind of fermentation. the wine grows. Chardonnay can be classified into four taste and aroma categories.

Most believe the flavors are present because of the soil and climate in which wine grows. Broadly speaking, warm regions such as California, Chile and much of Australia tend to give more tropical flavors, but temperate zones, such as southern Burgundy or northen New Zealand create wines with stonefruit notes. The very coolest Chardonnay vineyards such as Chablis, Champagne and Germany, lean towards green apple aromas.

Mineral descriptions such as chalk, wet stones and crushed seashells also find their way into Chardonnay tasting notes.

Altrough most famous for it' s still, dry wines, Chardonnay is used to produce an impressively diverserange of wine styles. The variety is put in sparkling wines all over the world. Chardonnay is an important component of many sparkling wines around the world, including Champagne, when it is usually paired with Pinot Noir. Canada even produces sweet Chardonnay Ice wine.

Chardonnay will pair well with poultry dishes, seafood or heavy cream or butter based recipes, also guacamole and salads, garlic and shrimp dishes.

Have a nice Wine apetite :D