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Five reasons we love Chardonnay

Whatever your preferred style, there’s enough love to go around when it comes to Chardonnay.

Whatever your preferred style, there’s enough love to go around when it comes to Chardonnay. Photo: Wine Selectors

If you could catch the rich golden hues of a hilltop sunrise in a glass, it might just look like Chardonnay.

Here are our top five reasons we’re so charmed by Chardonnay.

1. IT OFFERS SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE

Since the Chardonnay grape is one of the most neutral of all varietals – and so easy to grow – it offers a blank canvas for winemakers to produce wines according to the preferred tastes of their intended audience.

What that means is that when it comes to Chardonnay, there really is something for every taste, from lean styles with complex stonefruit and spice characters to rich, plush wines that let you indulge in the full spectrum of honeyed, tropical flavours.

2. IT’S A WINE FOR ALL SEASONS

While most people turn to big red wines in the winter months, the truth is that Chardonnay is an excellent choice for rugging up on the couch with, thanks to the supple, enveloping textures of its more full-bodied expressions.

It’s also a superbly refreshing summer wine also in its lighter-bodied, crisper incarnations.

The generous nature of Chardonnay provides a wealth of food and wine pairing possibilities. Photo: Wine Selectors

3. IT’S HUGELY VERSATILE WITH FOOD

Given its incredible diversity of flavours and textures, Chardonnay is one white wine that you can find a match for on almost any table of food.

Whether it’s hazelnuts and hard cheeses, roast chicken, seared salmon or fresh scallops in rich, creamy sauces, Chardonnay lovers are spoilt for choice with the food and wine pairings this popular wine makes possible.

4. IT’S A CORE COMPONENT OF MANY GREAT SPARKLING WINES

Along with Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier, Chardonnay is one of the three dominant grape varieties used in the production of Sparkling wines – particularly when sourced from cool-climate regions like the Yarra Valley and Adelaide Hills.

That’s because grapes grown in such regions develop with elevated levels of acidity, perfect for the crisp mouthfeel and finish of quality Sparkling wine.

Fun fact: Sparklings made exclusively with Chardonnay grapes are known as Blanc de Blancs (“white of whites”), meaning only white grapes were used in their production.

5. IT’S ONE OF OUR STAR PERFORMERS

One more great thing about Australian Chardonnay? It’s among some of the best produced anywhere in the world.

Today, many modern Australian Chardonnays – sometimes referred to as being modelled on the white Burgundy-style – have captured the hearts and taste buds of wine show judges around the globe, making it once again one of this country’s top performers.

This month from Wine Cellar

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