Every time I talk to my good friend Matt about wine (which is A LOT) I am left feeling like I’ve learned so much and at the same time am almost overwhelmed by how vast the world of wine truly is and how little I actually know about the subject. Matt is one of two go-to wine guides in my life. He and a close family friend Carol have not just shared an incredible assortment of wine with me but have also talked me through each sip, patiently answering my questions, sharing their knowledge and, most importantly, their pure passion for wine making.
I consult both Matt and Carol regularly and was confident that Matt would have a great recommendation for a quality Chardonnay at $20 or less. Here’s the thing about Chardonnay – it wears a variety of costumes, some beautiful, others leaving much to be desired. This can make for a very stressful Chardonnay shopping experience for someone with little knowledge about this highly manipulatable varietal. So I asked Matt to offer up his top five things to know about Chardonnay. He replied with a treasure-trove of information that I couldn’t wait to share with you.
Chardonnay is one of the world’s most tolerant grape varietals and will grow just about anywhere; however, the results are not always so good. In my opinion that is one of the reasons that people say that they do not like Chardonnay. A lot of CA Chardonnay comes from the central valley where things are grown on a commercial scale and then it goes into $5-10/bottle Chardonnay. Not great examples of what the varietal can become. In addition, you have producers who will use oak influence to hide the subpar fruit. Since you have to keep costs down you can’t use oak barrels for aging… they’re too expensive. Instead you have to use oak chips or oak dust. On the opposite end of the spectrum you have White Burgundy that can sell for several hundreds of dollars/bottle. Some of this is from the quality of the wine and some is based on simple supply demand, but regardless if you have ever had a great white burgundy from Chassagne-Montrachet or Puligny-Montrachet then I guarantee you will never look at Chardonnay in the same way for the rest of your life.
***Foodie-Girl Confession – I am very guilty of this and have benefited greatly by opening my mind and my palate to the wonderful world of white wine!***
#4 – Host a Chardonnay Party!
1) Go to the store and select bottles of the most popular Chardonnay they sell… one <$10 and one around <$20. This will provide a baseline for the evening. Chances are the $10 bottle won’t be able to stand up to the <$20 bottle, which for this purpose is good. Pick a price point for your guests and then assign each attendee a different region…Sonoma Coast, Sonoma Valley, Carneros, Santa Barbara, Napa Valley, Oregon, Washington, etc. If you really want to get interesting then open it up to Chardonnay from France, Italy, South America; however, this should usually be round 2 of the game. This type of tasting will really open people up to the idea of great Chardonnay. For it to be really effective you need to be playing in the $40-50 price point.
2) Another version of this game is more winery-focused. Pick one to two wineries and select two to three bottles of Chardonnay from each winery that are at different price points…<$10, $20-30, $50+. This shows the difference in styles that a winery is capable of producing. A great companion to this is to perform the same thing with a cabernet…<$20, $30-40, $60+. The idea here is to break down the “I wont pay that much for white wine” mentality. If the wine is good why should red have to cost more?
3) Compare oaked and unoaked wines from the same supplier if possible. If that isn’t possible stick to the same area and price point.
#5 – Adjust your temperature…
My final tip is to make sure you are drinking your wine at the proper temperature. Most everyone just drinks white wine at refrigerator temp and this is far too cold. It should be about 62-64 degrees just like a great red wine. Most people drink white too cold and red too warm. When white wine is too cold/red wine too warm, the full flavor is muffled and the wine can’t accurately express itself. You’ll be surprised how many more flavors and nuances you can pick up when your white wine warms up a bit!
Lindsey McClave has a deep love for food, wine and travel. While she has no intentions of becoming a chef or a sommelier and doesn’t consider herself an expert in any culinary area, she is obsessed with learning.
She says, “the one thing I’ve taken away from my wine travels is that wine is meant for everyone – rich, poor, and everywhere in-between.” Whatever cooking becomes to you, she encourages you to find that foodie place, embrace it and run with it.
