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Today (26th May) marks World (International) Chardonnay Day. This day is observed internationally on the Thursday before the last Monday of May. Chardonnay together with Sauvignon Blanc, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon are 4 of the most readily accessible varietals in the world. Chardonnay from Burgundy with myriad names like Meursault, Chablis, Pouilly-Fuisse can be confusing for the layman, but for the Burg lover, nothing comes closer to the proverbial land of milk and honey than a chilled glass of Chardonnay. Elsewhere, Chardonnay is widely planted by winemakers around the world who are attracted by the varietal's neutral fruit profile and adaptable nature.
But Chardonnay didn't always have a smooth ride. In the 70s and 80s leading up to the early 90s, wineries were massively planting Chardonnay, thanks largely to huge market demand driven by a few world renowned wine critics who awarded high ratings to Chardonnay that had a fuller body than the leaner versions at that time. Points sell wines. Wineries soon outdid one another by making Chardonnay that were creamier and heavier, with riper grapes and extended use of oak, as these wines received higher ratings and show trophies. In no time, Chardonnay became known as a wine that was fat and cumblesome. In the new world especially, Chardonnay started to taste overtly buttery and oaky, with the worst samples smelling like a manicurist painting nails in an Ikea store.
in the early 90s, a social movement took root where consumers started to ditch Chardonnay en masse for other white wines. The Anything but Chardonnay (ABC) phrase became fashionable. Sales fell sharply in a short time. Winemakers started to realise they couldn't continue to make cookie cutter style wines in a mad pursuit of high ratings. Instead, it was back to basics where terroir took centrestage. Wines started to be elaborated (using a common Spanish expression) based on what nature offered, rather than "manufactured" in the winery with excessive malolactic fermentation and unrestrained use of oak that overpowered grape flavours.
Now, we are fortunate to once again enjoy Chardonnay as a grape wine. We can find elegant, minerality driven Chablis, unoaked Australian Chardonnays that show the purity of fruits, and heavier styled Napa Chardonnays with a good mouthfeel. The diversity of style is Chardonnay's great advantage and makes drinking this varietal a pleasure. Like Forrest Gump and his box of chocolates, you never really know what you would get until you drink it. You would probably find one that speaks to you.
To mark this special day and acknowledge its great revival, we are offering 10% off our entire Chardonnay range. Just buy any 3 bottles of chardonnay to enjoy this discount from now till 31 May. Promo code: CHARD10
Have fun (re)discovering Chardonnay!
Best regards, Wong Peng Chung (Kenny) Founder and Chief Wine Drinker
P.S. If you don't have an account with us yet, do considering creating one so that you can participate in our Pull the Cork Rewards program. Click here to find out more about the rewards you can get by being a registered user. You will get quite a number of corks from this purchase that you can redeem for goodies later.
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