Chardonnay

Chardonnay
Chardonnay grapes in Champagne
Species:	Vitis vinifera
Also called:	Aubaine, Beaunois, Gamay Blanc, Melon Blanc (more)
Origin:	Burgundy, France
Notable regions:	Worldwide
Notable wines:	Chablis, white Burgundy, Champagne

Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety, used to make white wine. It probably originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now found anywhere that grapevines can be grown, from England to New Zealand. It is vinified in many different styles, from the elegant, "flinty" wines of Chablis (wine) to rich, buttery Meursaults and New World wines bursting with tropical fruit flavours. It is an important component of many sparkling wines around the world, including Champagne.

History

DNA fingerprinting research at UCD suggests that Chardonnay is the result of a cross between the Pinot and Gouais Blanc (Heunisch) grape varieties^{[citation needed]}. It is believed that the Romans brought Gouais Blanc from the Balkans to Eastern France, where it was widely grown by the peasants. The Pinot of the aristocrats grew in close proximity to the Gouais Blanc, which gave them many opportunities to interbreed. Since the two parents were genetically distant, many of the crosses showed hybrid vigour and were selected for further propagation. These "successful" crosses included Chardonnay and siblings such as Aligoté, Aubin Vert, Auxerrois, Bachet noir, Beaunoir, Franc Noir de la-Haute-Saône, Gamay Blanc Gloriod, Gamay noir, Melon, Knipperlé, Peurion, Roublot, Sacy^[1] and Dameron.^[2] The geographical and genetic relationship to Pinot is reflected in alternative names such as Pineau Blanc and Pinot Chardonnay.

Thus Chardonnay probably originated in Burgundy, or possibly Champagne. It may well take its name from Chardonnay, a small village in the north of the Mâconnais. The village in turn takes its name from Cardonnacum, a Latin name for a place with thistles - the modern French name for "thistle" is chardon. But this doesn't necessarily mean that the grape originated in the village - another theory is provided by its name in Chablis, where it is known as Beaunois - "the grape from Beaune".

The VIVC lists "noir" and "rose" variants, the latter presumably representing a "gris" mutation similar to those found in the Pinot and Grenache families.^[2] There is also a musqué ("muscat") mutant.^[2]

Styles

Oak-aged Chardonnay is particularly popular in the United States.

Chardonnay is a versatile grape. In cold regions such as Chablis, it shows crisp acidity and flavours of green hay with the flinty notes typical of the terroir - the wine even has a green tinge. Just 100 miles south, in the Côte de Beaune, the white Burgundies are much riper and richer, reflecting warmer conditions and the increasing use of oak.

Chardonnay wines taste very different when the vines are grown in hot climates such as those in the plains of California and Australia. The conditions ensure ripe grapes, which lead to high levels of alcohol in the wine, and rich flavours of peach, melon, citrus and tropical fruits. In the 1980's and 1990's many New World winemakers responded to these bold flavours with equally bold use of oak, ageing the wine for long periods in new oak barrels. The cheap way to add "oakiness" would be the addition of staves or wood chips to wine in stainless steel containers. The intention was to impart complexity to the wines by introducing desirable aromas of vanilla, caramel, and butteriness. Too often the result tasted like chewing on a piece of wood, and this led to something of a consumer backlash against heavy, oaky Chardonnays. Winemakers in Australia and New Zealand reacted with completely unoaked Chardonnays from cooler climates, whereas in the United States there was more emphasis on controlling the oaking process. Thus they experimented with oak from different sources (French, American, Central European oaks all have different effects on wine), with different treatments (for instance toasting the barrels imparts smokiness and toast flavours) and reduced the oak influence by using bigger barrels (which have less oak per volume of wine), oaking only some of the wine in the blend, or using a mix of harsh new oak and older barrels.

Another difference between the US and the Antipodes is that in the former, winemakers favour the soft, rich flavours that result from malolactic fermentation. They deliberately inoculate the wine with lactic acid bacteria such as Oenococcus oeni that convert tart malic acid to the softer-tasting lactic acid. At the same time the yeast produce diacetyl, a diketone compound which imparts a buttery, butterscotch flavour to the wine. The recent concerns about the genotoxic effects of diketones used as food additives may be one reason for the trend away from "buttery" Chardonnays in Australia.

"Blanc de Blancs" is a term applied to sparkling wines made with 100% Chardonnay, including many in Champagne, but most of the best fizzes use the classic Champagne blend of Chardonnay with Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier to give toasty, appley flavours. Other common blending partners include Sémillon in Australia and Savagnin (Traminer) in the Jura, but it gets grown and blended with just about anything somewhere in the world. Chardonnay is typically sold as a single varietal wine, but such wines may be 'bulked out' with less famous varieties to some extent, depending on what is permitted by local labelling regulations.

Anything But Chardonnay

Chardonnay grapes in Moldova.

Chardonnay became very fashionable in the 1990's, as the stereotypical drink of young urban women of the Bridget Jones generation. But as vineyards responded with massive new plantings of the variety, they found that fashions were changing again. The market was drinking more red wine, and as mentioned above there was a backlash against heavy, oaky, New World Chardonnays in favour of lighter wines such as Pinot Grigio. There was a new fashion, "ABC" - Anything But Chardonnay, identified by Frank Prial in 1995.^[3]

Another reason for the backlash was that Chardonnay was seen as a symbol of the globalization of wine, in which local grape varieties were grubbed up in favour of the big names demanded by international markets. Oz Clarke described a view of Chardonnay as "...the ruthless coloniser and destroyer of the world's vineyards and the world's palates."^[4] In fact Chardonnay was only 8th in the 2001 rankings of grape variety by area, with around 140,000 hectares, but it is probably planted in more countries than any other variety.

Regions

As has been mentioned, Chardonnay is grown almost anywhere where grapevines are grown. Some of the more notable countries are :

Australia

Like many grape varieties, Chardonnay first came to Australia in the collection of James Busby in 1832, but it only really took off in the 1950's. It is most significant in South Australia, New South Wales — especially the Hunter Valley - and Victoria.^[5] As of 2005, Chardonnay was the most widely planted grape in Australia.

Harvesting Chardonnay in the Chablis Premier Cru of Fourchaume.

Australian Chardonnay used to be synonymous with massive, oaky fruit bombs from warm-climate vineyards, but there has been a move towards cooler vineyards at altitude or on the south coast, and towards fresher, more elegant styles with little or no oak.

France

In its homeland of Burgundy, Chardonnay produces what are arguably the greatest white wines of France in the Côte de Beaune and the Grand Crus of Chablis. But it is still important in the warmer regions to the south, with much recent planting in the Languedoc. And of course it is a major component of Champagne.

Italy

There's a surprising amount of Chardonnay grown in Italy, led by pioneers such as Angelo Gaja in Piedmont, but it's now spread all the way down to Sicily.

USA

Chardonnay is mostly grown in California and Oregon, but is found in many of the states and up into Ontario. As discussed above, US winemakers tend to prefer an oaky, buttery style with full malolactic fermentation, but there are many exceptions to that rule.

Vine and Viticulture

Chardonnay prefers an alkaline clay soil, but is a relatively tolerant and adaptable variety. The vine is quite vigorous, with early budding and light green leaves that are not strongly lobed. The bunches are usually on the small side and quite compact, with thin-skinned berries that are green in the shade, turning amber when exposed to the sun.

Synonyms

Chardonnay vines in Chassagne-Montrachet, Burgundy.

Arboisier, Arnaison Blanc, Arnoison, Aubain, Aubaine, Auvergnat Blanc, Auvernas, Auvernas Blanc, Auvernat Blanc, Auvernat Blanc, Auxeras, Auxerras Blanc, Auxerrois Blanc, Auxois, Auxois Blanc, Bargeois Blanc, Beaunois, Biela Klevanjika, Blanc de Champagne, Blanc de Cramant, Breisgauer Suessling, Breisgauer Sussling, Burgundi Feher, Chablis, Chardenai, Chardenay, Chardenet, Chardennet, Chardonay, Chardonnet, Chatenait, Chatey Petit, Chatte, Chaudenay, Chaudenet, Chaudent, Clävner, Clevner Weiss, Cravner, Epinette, Epinette Blanc, Epinette Blanche, Epinette de Champagne, Ericey Blanc, Feher Chardonnay, Feherburgundi, Feinburgunder, Gamay Blanc, Gelber Weissburgunder, Gentil Blanc, Grosse Bourgogne, Klawner, Klevanjka Biela, Klevner, Lisant, Luisant, Luizannais, Luizant, Luzannois, Maconnais, Maurillon Blanc, Melon Blanc, Melon D'Arbois, Moreau Blanc, Morillon Blanc, Moulon, Noirien Blanc, Obaideh, Petit Chatey, Petit Sainte-Marie, Petite Sainte Marie, Pineau Blanc, Pino Sardone, Pino Shardone, Pinot Blanc à Cramant, Pinot Blanc Chardonnay, Pinot Chardonnay, Pinot de Bourgogne, Pinot Giallo, Pinot Planc, Plant de Tonnerre, Romere, Romeret, Rouci Bile, Rousseau, Roussot, Ruländer Weiß, Sainte Marie Petite, Sardone, Shardone, Shardonne, Später Weiß Burgunder, Weiß Burgunder (normally refers to Pinot Blanc), Weiß Clevner, Weiß Edler, Weiß Elder, Weiß Klewner, Weiß Silber, Weißedler, Weißer Clevner, Weißer Rulander.^[2]

In popular culture

• Chardonnay is a favourite drink of Bridget Jones in Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason and in the films of the books, although she drinks more Pinot Grigio in Bridget Jones's Diary. This resulted in the wine becoming associated with young single women, in British culture at least. In turn this influenced the naming of :
• Chardonnay Lane-Pascoe was a lead character in the British TV drama Footballers' Wives, who was allegedly based on Victoria Beckham. There is little evidence of Chardonnay being used as a first name before that time, but in 2002 there were 52 British babies named Chardonnay and another 14 named Chardonay;^[6] in 2003 there were 91 Chardonnays born in the UK.^[7]
• A Ratatouille Chardonnay was planned to tie in with the 2007 film, but the Walt Disney Company abandoned the idea on fears that it would encourage under-age drinking.^{[citation needed]}
• Japanese chewing gum company Meiji Seika celebrated its 10th anniversary with the release of Chardonnay-flavoured Xylish Platinum Mint gum.

See also

• Great Chardonnay Showdown
• Judgment of Paris
• Grand European Jury Wine Tasting of 1997

Notes and references

Further reading

• Robinson, Jancis (1992). Vines, Grapes and Wines: The Wine Drinker's Guide to Grape Varieties. Mitchell Beazley. ISBN 978-1857329995. 
• Robinson, Jancis (2006). The Oxford Companion to Wine, third edition. Oxford University Press. 978-0198609902. 

External links

• VIVC Bibliography
• Appellation America - Chardonnay Grape Information Page.
• Chardonnay Du Monde - website of an international Chardonnay competition.

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