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http:// --> Ashland, Oregon HOME Valley & State Sports Nation & World Opinion/Editorial Classifieds Business Columnists Local Issues Obituaries Weather Archive Revels Etcetera Backpage Hot Topics Most Viewed Forum Photo Galleries Video Readers Polls O-Zone Online Games Movie Preview Special Sections Real Estate Guide Menu Guide Shakespeare Subscribe Contact Us Rate Card Place an Ad Featured Galleries: April 17, 2007 Mystique of Chardonnay By Lorn Razzano Tidings Columnist Lorn Razzano Archives Tuesday April 3rd Tuesday April 10th Tuesday April 17th Tuesday April 24th Tuesday May 1st Tuesday May 8th Tuesday May 15th Tuesday May 22nd Chardonnay may be the most misunderstood grape variety in today's market. Not only are there seemingly endless bottles on the shelf, the variety and geographic origins of Chardonnay boggle the mind. Chardonnay is made on almost every continent with varying styles of production and winemaking technique as well as vastly different ideas on how the vineyards should be managed. The history of Chardonnay from the viewpoint of the consumer is quite interesting and pretty complex. Let me give you a quick overview. The first Chardonnays to catch the eye and palate of the consumer were the Chardonnays from Macon, France. Large importers from New York and San Francisco began bringing in Chardonnay from Macon within five years after the war. By the early 1960's Macon Villages and Macon Lugny were all over the shelves in the larger markets. Big French producer names such as Louis Jadot and Louis Latour were selling large case blocks of these inexpensive imports, most being under two dollars a bottle, to bottle shops and the finer restaurants throughout the United States. These wines were simple but lightly wooded wines with good fruit and superb acidity. On the other hand, just emerging from under the heavy hand of the monster woody Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon of that era were the equally woody, thick palated California Chardonnays. > In the early 1960's to the late 1970's the battle of the Chardonnays took place. On one side of the pond we had the clean, fresh and crisp European Chardonnay coming across in bulk (with the exception of the spendy white Burgundies) and on the west coast of the United States we had the chioce of the over oaked, butter bombed Chardonnays which had the bouquet of a roll topped desk! I'm not kidding when I tell you that it was impossible to tell what variety was in the bottle that was labeled "Chardonnay" because of the massive amount of oak these wines were subjected to. In fact, oak was so predominant in Chardonnay at that time in the California offerings, there was not one Chardonnay in any catalogue available to me in the late 1970's that was a stainless steel (no oak) production Chardonnay. Here's who changed the tide; the restaurant owners — chefs and commercial wine judges. The rebellion against California Chardonnay began in San Francisco in the very early 1980's. Tired of having to come up with entree's that would somehow blend with these oak bombs, the finer dinner houses began a quiet but very meaningful boycott of many of these over oaked white wines and chose the cleaner styles of Chardonnay that were produced elsewhere. Delicate dishes such as trout and lightly seasoned seafood began to show up on menus once again, plates that had virtually disappeared from west coast fine dining from lack of delicate wine to be served with them. I distinctly remember visiting wineries all over California at this time and hearing the woes of the winemakers at the shunning of many their "big" styled Chardonnay. The hand writing was on the wall and things had to change. Wine judges also began not awarding medals to the oak driven wines which also began to change the industry as did the many new wine writers emerging at this time. By the late 1980's it was evident that balance was beginning to show up on the west coast Chardonnay scene and was here to stay. Today we are blessed by the variety of wonderful Chardonnay available to us. It is rare to find hugely out of balance Chardonnay on the shelves and I predict even better things to come! See you next week. Leave a Comment: Advertisement: Advertisement: Paid Advertising: Debt Help Inkjet Printers Payday Loans Free Ringtones Debt Consolidation Security Systems Debt Relief New Hampshire Primary Advertisement: Copyright © 2007 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers. All Rights Reserved. Del.icio.us