Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Versatility adds to chardonnay's appeal
Gordon Kendall
Gordon Kendall's column, "Good Libations," runs monthly in Extra. He welcomes readers' questions and comments about wine, beer or spirits.
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Many folks equate white wine with chardonnay. Chardonnay is by far the most popular variety in this country.
According to the University of California at Davis, chardonnay accounted for 75 percent of the grape production in California's Central Valley in 2006 (92 percent of the wine produced in the United States is made in California). Chardonnay enjoys very high name recognition with wine drinkers.
As a humorous aside, my friend Suzanne Becker, the wine maker at nearby Villa Appalaccia (which does not make chardonnay), just pours her pinot grigio when patrons ask to taste chardonnay. The response is usually, "That is the best chardonnay I have ever tasted."
Chardonnay's popularity can be attributed to its versatility. Fresh chardonnay grapes have a fairly neutral flavor. Just as an artist has different pigments on his palette, the winemaker uses a variety of techniques to create a variety of flavors within the wine.
For example, the wine can be fully or partially fermented in oak barrels. The origin of the barrel as well as the level of toast applied to the inside of the barrel make a difference. Barrels are made by forming staves over a flame, toasting the inside in increments from light to dark. This caramelizes the sugars in the wood, lending vanilla and caramel notes to the wine.
Some or all of the wine can be fermented in oak, leading to a creamy texture. As the yeast completes its task of fermenting grape sugars into alcohol, the yeast cells become dormant and settle to the bottom of the barrels. The winemaker can use a baton to stir up the yeast to impart yeasty and buttery flavors to the wine.
A certain bacteria can be inoculated into the wine to initiate a secondary fermentation that converts sour malic acid into buttery-tasting lactic acid. Winemakers call this process malolactic fermentation. After fermenting, the wine can be aged in oak barrels. This will impart flavors of toast, vanilla or even wood.
Oak is produced in many forests, but French and American oak are the most commonly used. American oak tends to taste more like wood and French oak has more notes of vanilla and violets. A French oak barrel costs up to $900, while American is about half that. As you might expect, wines aged in French oak tend to cost more.
The winemaker can use an infinite combination of these techniques -- or not. The wine can be fermented and aged in stainless steel tanks without any oak. These wines tend to be fresh and crisp and display citrus notes.
Many chardonnay producers attempt to imitate the classic French white burgundy, Montrachet, a wine made from chardonnay grapes grown in soil known to impart unique mineral characteristics. The wine is fermented and aged in top-quality French oak barrels for a rich, buttery texture.
Because of its scarcity and reputation, Montrachet can be frightfully expensive. In fact, in 2001, Sotheby's auction house in New York sold seven bottles of 1971 Le Montrachet for almost $24,000 per bottle. Yes, the three zeroes are correct.
I have found some respectable chardonnay available locally that is significantly less expensive. If any readers have some Montrachet, I will be glad to help you taste it.
