The so-called 'Dijon clones' are bred for their adaptive attributes, with vineyard owners planting the clonal variety best suited to their terroir and which will produce the characteristics that they are seeking in the wine. Clones, crossing, and mutations Chardonnay grapes after harvestĪs of 2006, 34 clonal varieties of Chardonnay could be found in vineyards throughout France most of these were developed at the University of Burgundy in Dijon. These 'successful' crosses included Chardonnay and siblings such as Aligoté, Aubin vert, Auxerrois, Bachet noir, Beaunoir, Franc Noir de la-Haute-Saône, Gamay Blanc Gloriod, Gamay noir, Melon, Knipperlé, Peurion, Roublot, Sacy, and Dameron. Since the two parents were genetically distant, many of the crosses showed hybrid vigour and were selected for further propagation. The Pinot of the French aristocracy grew in close proximity to the Gouais blanc, giving the two ample opportunity to interbreed. The Romans are thought to have brought Gouais blanc from Croatia, and it was widely cultivated by peasants in eastern France. Modern DNA fingerprinting research at University of California, Davis, now suggests that Chardonnay is the result of a cross between the Pinot noir and Gouais blanc (Heunisch) grape varieties. Another theory stated that it originated from an ancient indigenous vine found in Cyprus.

Little external evidence supports this theory. Chardonnay's true origins were further obscured by vineyard owners in Lebanon and Syria, who claimed that the grape's ancestry could be traced to the Middle East, from where it was introduced to Europe by returning Crusaders. Viticulturalists Maynard Amerine and Harold Olmo proposed descent from a wild Vitis vinifera vine that was a step removed from white Muscat. Pierre Galet disagreed with this assessment, believing that Chardonnay was unrelated to any other major grape variety.

In addition to being found in the same region of France for centuries, ampelographers noted that the leaves of these plants have near-identical shape and structure. History Gouais blanc, one of the parent varieties of Chardonnayįor much of its history, a connection was assumed between Chardonnay and Pinot noir or Pinot blanc. Nonetheless, it is one of the most widely planted grape varieties, with 210,000 hectares (520,000 acres) worldwide, second only to Airén among white wine grapes and fifth among all wine grapes. Chardonnay's popularity peaked in the late 1980s, then gave way to a backlash among those wine connoisseurs who saw the grape as a leading negative component of the globalization of wine. Ĭhardonnay is an important component of many sparkling wines around the world, including Champagne and Franciacorta in Italy.

Wines that have gone through malolactic fermentation tend to have softer acidity and fruit flavors with buttery mouthfeel and hazelnut notes. In warmer locations (such as the Adelaide Hills and Mornington Peninsula in Australia and Gisborne and Marlborough region of New Zealand), the flavors become more citrus, peach, and melon, while in very warm locations (such as the Central Coast AVA of California), more fig and tropical fruit notes such as banana and mango come out. In cool climates (such as Chablis and the Carneros AVA of California), Chardonnay wine tends to be medium to light body with noticeable acidity and flavors of green plum, apple, and pear. It is vinified in many different styles, from the lean, crisply mineral wines of Chablis, France, to New World wines with oak and tropical fruit flavors. The Chardonnay grape itself is neutral, with many of the flavors commonly associated with the wine being derived from such influences as terroir and oak.

For new and developing wine regions, growing Chardonnay is seen as a ' rite of passage' and an easy entry into the international wine market. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand. Millerandage, powdery mildew, frost and coulureĬhardonnay ( UK: / ˈ ʃ ɑːr d ə n eɪ/, US: / ˌ ʃ ɑːr d ən ˈ eɪ/, French: i) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. Aubaine, Beaunois, Gamay blanc, Melon blanc ( more)Ĭhablis, white Burgundy, Champagne, Italian Franciacorta

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