The Chardonnay grape variety is an incredibly versatile variety which can be suitable for a wide range of climates and soils. It is not a surprise that it is a very popular grape to grow. It is an early ripening variety, so it is prone to spring frost, so in cool climates it is better suited for mid-slopes than valley floors. It also ripens early, so it would reach full phenolic ripeness before the autumn rains. It is a relatively high yielding variety without loss of quality. However, it is prone to mildew, millerandage and grapevine yellows. It can be grown on a range of different soils, but top-quality examples are coming from limestone and clay soils, just like Chablis, other parts of Burgundy. In cool climates the resulting wine has an apple, pear, lemon lime fruit flavour profile, light to medium body, high acidity just like in Chablis with typically no Malo-lactic conversion or the use of oaks. In moderate climates the resulting wines are riper citrus, melon, and stone fruit, medium to full body and high acidity Malo-lactic conversion and new oak influence like the Cote d'Or. In California's much warmer areas like the Central Valley and San Joaquin Valley where a great amount of inexpensive Chardonnay made with an easy-drinking, soft style with medium acidity, sometimes residual sugar, ripe melon, pineapple fruit no oak or made with oak alterative in stainless steel tanks. (The same style and method of production can be found in South - Eastern Australia.) The premium Chardonnays in California are coming from cooler coastal areas or from higher altitudes with pronounced peach, melon pineapple fruit, full-body, medium+ acidity, Malo-lactic conversion derived secondary flavours and plentiful of American new oak like in Sonoma. Certain clones provide different attributions to different climatic challenges. In Chablis 41B and 420A rootstocks are widely used as they are very tolerant of limestone and with high Ph resulting very crisp, fresh, high acidity wines. As a bonus the latter has very low vigour as well, as the vigorous Chardonnay otherwise would prove to be difficult to ripen, because of shading. In Burgundy Dijon clones are used that are early ripening clones in high densities like 8000-10000 or even more. Denser plantings encourage root competition, resulting better quality fruit, smaller berries, higher flavour intensity. Oregon used to use Californian Wente Chardonnay clones, but they had trouble of getting them ripened, so they opted for the earlier ripening Dijon clones on a variation of sandstone, basalt loess soils. With climate change the process is getting reversed as Oregon growers are having much more reliable summers and Californian rootstocks are back in favour. In California there were large scale replanting's thanks to phylloxera and Pierce's-disease. Mechanisation is well-used where the topography allows it. With its dry, warm Mediterranean climate irrigation is installed in many vineyards, but drought has become an increasingly big problem recently. The low rainfall and breezes throughout the growing season reduce the risk of fungal diseases, but Pierce's disease is still a serious threat. The low rainfall can cause wildfires that can damage vineyards, and vineyard buildings on its way. Not to mention smoke taint to the spared vineyards. Spring frost are combated by sprinklers and wind machines.
In Burgundy to reduce vigour some of the vines are pruned to cordon system and Cordon de Royat as well, but the high proportion of old wood gave ideal hiding place for diseases. Traditionally Guyot replacement-cane VSP was the norm but to fend of the flaring of Esca and other trunk diseases a softer pruning method call Pussard-Guyot was introduced, although this method requires well-skilled vineyard workers. To reduce yields de-budding and green harvest can be used as well. In cooler climates de-budding early in the season can be a problem, as other threats, as fail, frost or fungal diseases can decimate crops later the season. Green harvest happens much later in season, but it can lead to unbalance in vine development as the plant might start to compensate with excessive growth that can lead to dilution. Mildew and grey rot can be managed by spraying and canopy management. The timing of harvest is especially important as storms, autumn rains can lead to dilution and grey rot and the here most of the fruit for better quality wines is still picked by hand.
In Burgundy acidification or deacidification is allowed, but rarely practiced, but chaptalisation is a much more likely procedure to be done to achieve minimum alcohol levels. With climate change that is getting rarer. In comparison in California's hotter Central Valley acidification is much more likely, whereas there is no problem to reach minimum alcohol levels. The handpicked bunches are sorted but pressed as whole bunches and undergoing a short period of skin contact to enhance flavours. For clarification sedimentation is used, for inexpensive wines may use quicker methods. For premium wines ambient yeast are used with old oak barrels relatively high fermentation temperatures to express the terroir and achieve a rounder style. For high volume inexpensive wines inoculation with cultured yeasts and temperature controlled stainless-steel and concrete vessels are normal with lower fermentation temperatures. Hyper oxidation may be used for the final wine to avoid premature oxidation in premium products. Regional wines see no oak, from village level up wines aged in a proportion of new oak, premium wines are aged small (228l) or larger (500-600l) barrels with up to a 100% new oak at the highest level. Malo-lactic conversion is blocked for fresher style of wines but used for richer styles with lees ageing and bâtonnage.
Winemaking in California's premium wines are much more divergent now than in the 1980's and 1990's. The consumers and critics could not get enough of the very intense, full-bodied, relatively late harvested, extra ripe fruit flavour, high alcohol wines with lower acidity and high proportion of new American oak, with overt vanilla, coconut characters. They tend to pick earlier to retain freshness and avoid extra-ripe flavours. Although high proportion of new oak is still used but for a shorter period of time. The wineries are generally well-equipped mainly in Napa Valley, modern, mechanised, with optical sorting machines and the works. Chardonnay grapes with higher acidity coming from the cooler valley floors, whereas riper, more tropical fruit flavoured grapes coming, from warmer valley floors. Chardonnay is often fermented in oak barrels and aged in new oak barrels. Blending across vineyards are common, but it is also common between AVA's to gain freshness from grapes grown in cooler areas. In the Central Valley that covers a huge inland area we can find high yielding vineyards on fertile flats, with high temperatures and extra-ripe fruit for large-scale production for large companies like Bronco Wine Company and Gallo. Well-mechanised estates, using modern techniques, stainless-steel temperature-controlled vessels, centrifuges, cultured yeasts to produce inexpensive wines. California is the largest wine producing state in the US and E&J Gallo is one of the largest wine companies in the world from California, owning Barefoot Cellars with a variety of varietal wines, like Chardonnay among them. That is the largest selling, dynamically expanding brand in the world now. California produces also small quality driven cult wines for collectors and investment, and anything in between to offer options for different means and different occasions. Many regions around the world are trying to replicate the epitome style of Burgundian Chardonnay like Oregon with Eyrie Chardonnay, Elephant Hill in New Zealand the Salome Chardonnay as the demand for these wines are high and the supply is very much limited. There is a demand for easy-drinking, cheap, fairly well-put together every-day, all-rounder wines, just like simple Chardonnays from the South of France or Yellow Tail Chardonnay from Australia. Although Chardonnay was falling out of favour to Sauvignon Blanc and the flood of cheap Australian Chardonnay put bad flavour to the consumers mouth, still there is a great amount of people who associates white wine with Chardonnay. They know it well, it can be inoffensive, not too high in alcohol, simple flavour with a hint of residual sugar. What else you need on a weekday night?
Photographs by The Tannin Addict.