| Chardonnay is a thousand year old small village in | | | | medium sized bunches. Bunches have tightly packed |
| Mâconnais in the southern portion of France's | | | | berries forming a single cluster not like loosely spaced |
| burgundy region. The famous wine Chardonnay most | | | | Shiraz bunches. A ripe Chardonnay berry is gold |
| likely originated here and was then spread throughout | | | | yellow in colour with plenty of juice. Berries are small, |
| France by the monks. The earliest recorded reference | | | | fragile, thin-skinned and require care during harvest to |
| to Chardonnay occurs in 1330 when Cistercian monks | | | | avoid oxidization. Chardonnay is very sensitive to |
| built stonewalls around their 'Clos de Vougeot' vineyard | | | | winemaking practices. Cool climate Chardonnay |
| exclusively planted to Chardonnay grapes. There is | | | | produces an abundance of fruit flavours. The warmer |
| another hypothesis that points towards Lebanon when | | | | climate Chardonnays may have less of the fruits but |
| it comes to the origins of Chardonnay, but with no | | | | develop wonderful honey, butterscotch, buttery and |
| written references. Another direction points to an | | | | nutty oily flavours that really fill the mouth. The trend of |
| Austrian vine very similar to Chardonnay, called Morillon. | | | | fermenting Chardonnay in oak barrels and then storing |
| The name Morillon has been used during the middle | | | | it in new oak can kill the fruit characters. You know |
| Ages in the region of Burgundy and was an old name | | | | there's too much oak when all you get is vanilla and |
| for Chardonnay in the region of Chablis. | | | | cinnamon and no fresh fruit. |
| Murray Tyrrell from Australia changed the course of | | | | The new worldwide winemakers have increased the |
| history for Chardonnay by bringing the HVD vineyard | | | | freshness and acidity by sourcing grapes from cooler |
| in 1982. Chardonnay is the most widely planted variety | | | | climates such as Marlborough (New Zealand), Russian |
| in Australia and also in NZ. There is more Chardonnay | | | | River (California), Yarra Valley and Mornington |
| than Cabernet Sauvignon or Shiraz. | | | | Peninsula (Australia), Constantia and Walker Bay |
| Lately Chardonnay has become a common girls name | | | | (South Africa), Casablanca and Leyda (Chile), and |
| and has had a terrible press starting with the ABC | | | | Agrelo and the Uco Valley (Argentina). This doesn't |
| (Anything But Chardonnay) movement. Critics are | | | | mean that Burgundy is forgotten. Whites from Chablis, |
| making case of Riesling and other people are finding | | | | the Côte Chalonnaise and the Mâconnais are |
| Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc or Viognier worth | | | | very good value. |
| drinking. But Chardonnay consistently makes better | | | | Chardonnay is back on top and as Tim Atkin, in an |
| wines in a wider range of climates than any other | | | | Observer's article advises "He had more exciting |
| white variety. It is also responsible for the majority of | | | | Chardonnays in the past 12 months than in the |
| the world's finest whites. | | | | previous 12 years. |
| Chardonnay is a vigorous, heavy cropping variety with | | | | |