A couple of weeks ago, I dove into the controversial subject of chardonnay on Tik Tok and Instagram. A LOT of people felt some kind of way about it. I asked folks to share their hot takes on it and there was a lot of discourse on the topic!
The grape has long been controversial; usually lumped into a cheap, grocery store wine category, stereotyped by drunk mom’s enjoying their 3rd glass of wine before 3pm, or claims that it tastes like butter and fake vanilla. To be frank, most of you complaining about chardonnay have probably had shitty conventional versions, completely stripped of expression, thus tainting your vision of what chardy can and should be.
That’s the problem with industrialized wine: it’s pumped with chemicals, additives, inoculated yeast (added yeast which is selected to give specific flavors) and strips away the true expression of this grape. It’s a real shame because when a chardonnay is done right it can be a beautiful and elegant experience.
Aging chardonnay in oak barrels is what gives it it’s signature “oakiness”. This is a common method and can be very beautiful when done correctly. When done in excess, the flavors of the wine are masked with a buttery/vanilla taste that also feel heavy and thick in your mouth.
Aging with minimal oak, on the other hand, creates more subtle and balanced flavors especially when there’s still a bit of brightness and acidity in the wine. It’s round and elegant with just enough acidity to make it feel light. Think: spiced apple pie and baked pears.
To achieve a more “lean”, bright or “zingy” chardonnay (all very technical terms, btw), wine makers will make an un-oaked chardonnay, meaning they use stainless steel or concrete barrels to age their wine. THIS is where Chardonnay gets interesting! These wines feel more citrus-y and tart. You might notice flavors like: apple, pineapple, and lemon bars.
An un-oaked chardonnay is an entirely different experience than an oaked chard! Which brings me to my main point: we simply cannot write off an entire varietal based on one bottle. There are way too many variations in wine to have the same wine experience every time.
Here are just a few things that contribute to the way a wine might taste:
The region the grape varietal was grown in
Terroir (general make up of the soil, climate, and other environmental factors)
The methods used by the wine maker to produce the wine
Maceration (how long was the juice and skin in contact?)
What type of vessel they used to age the wine
Climate change
So, a bottle of chardonnay, produced in Oregon during a particularly rainy year, aged in stainless steel with zero skin contact is going to taste COMPLETELY different than a chardonnay produced in Australia during a drought year, aged partially in oak and then transferred to concrete barrels, and TOTALLY different than a chardonnay produced in the Champagne region of France and experienced secondary fermentation in the bottle (yes, chardonnay is used in champagne!). Ya see what I mean!? Those are just three examples, but imagine the endless combinations of chardonnay grape growing and wine production and then tell me you want to write off ALL of chardonnay entirely!
/rant.
If you are subscribed to this newsletter, than you’re probably a down ass fool who loves to be adventurous with wine! So I’m gonna send you all off with a little homework this week:
Go out and buy a bottle of natural Chardonnay. Ask your wine shop (or me!) for a recommendation and let them know you want to explore unique and delicious chardonnays.
…and please report back in the comments.
To get you started, here are a couple I absolutely love: WYD Swick Wines, Scribe Winery Pet-Nat Chardonnay, Sona Vino Say When Wine.