CHARDONNAY GRAPE 2020 – Chardonnay is making a Thursday look sexy!!! This year International Chardonnay Day is May 21, 2020. While we sip and ponder the Noble Child of Burgundy (Bourgogne), let’s review some fun facts of Chardonnay.
· Chardonnay is the NUMBER ONE grape planted on Planet Earth found on every grape growing region of the world.
· There seems to be haters in the world promoting ABC – Anything But Chardonnay. Regardless of the vilification of the Chardonnay grape, it remains one of the Noble Grapes, remaining one of the top six varietals planted, covering an estimated 440,000 acres across the globe.
· The Grape is named for an actual place – Chardonnay which is a commune located in Burgundy, France with a population of less than 200 people (In Macon – Furthest Southern Burgundian Wine region)
· Thanks to genetic testing, we now know that the Parentage of the Chardonnay Grape is the half Pinot Noir, half Gouais Blanc (sadly, Gouais Blanc was completely wiped out during the Phylloxera epidemic)
· In the mid – 1800’s Chardonnay was taken overseas as one of the leading New World grape varietals, transported by immigrants with a mind to set up wineries.
· Strangely enough, due to the vast variety of styles, Chardonnay is not always easy to pair with food. When in doubt, the answer is chicken. Because here we have a truly versatile fruit, capable of great expression, and able to adapt to many styles. See below for tasting notes of regionally made wines with food pairing included
* The Chardonnay Grape is one of the THREE grapes of Champagne Along with Pinot Noir and Pinot Meunier.
Want to understand Chardonnay better? Stop by the Broken Barrel In Leavenworth for a WA VS THE WORLD tasting of Chardonnay (featuring California, Washington and Burgundy France). Can’t Stop in? Email Becky at becky@brokenbarrelshop.com– She will be happy to suggest and ship you the wines (within WA State).
We love trying all kinds of Chardonnay and invite you to do the same. Here is a great selection of Washington VS The World Wine Tasting. Expand you palette! Chardonnay wines for different regions of the world so that you can find your favorite chardonnay to put in your glass!
Here are Becky's Top Picks:
* Rombauer Chardonnay
Carneros, Napa, CA
* Saviah Chardonnay
Walla Walla, WA
* Domaine Jomain Bourgogne Chardonnay - Burgundy France