Explaining the Chardonnay Variety of White Wine

The chardonnay grape grows pretty much in every wine producing country of the world for two reasons: It is very adaptable to a wide range of climates and having Chardonnay on the label of wine is shoe in to be a great seller.

Most Chardonnays receive some oak treatment either during or after fermentation. The best Chardonnays are treated in French oak while the lower priced ones can possibly be soaked with oak chips or have an oak flavor added. Okay chardonnay is such the norm that that some wine drinkers confuse the flavor of oak with the flavor of Chardonnay. If your glass of chardonnay smells or tastes toasty, smoky, spicy, vanilla-like or butterscotch-like, that's the oak you are perceiving not the Chardonnay.



Chardonnay predominately have fruity aromas and flavors that range from apples in cooler wine regions to tropical fruits like pineapples in warmer regions. They can also display earthy flavors such as mushrooms or minerals. It has a medium to high acidity and generally full-bodied and classically chardonnay wines are dry. However, most inexpensive Chardonnays these days can be found to be quite sweet.

Chardonnay is a grape that can stand on its own in a wine and the top Chardonnay based wines are made from a hundred percent chardonnay grapes, however, some of the more less expensive wines are likely to have a cheaper varietal blended in with it to reduce the cost of making it.

Chardonnay is a regal grape for its role in producing the greatest dry white wines in the world and for being one of the main grapes of champagne. But mostly today it ends up in a huge amount of table wine.