International Chardonnay Day!

Chardonnay is one of the most popular grapes in the world, so it’s only right that we take a day to celebrate it. That day is the Thursday before Memorial Day—today!

Chardonnay hails from Burgundy, France, but it’s grown basically everywhere wine grapes are grown. As wine, it can taste anywhere on the range from clean and minerally in Chablis to warm and buttery in California.

Chardonnay isn’t always everyone’s favorite wine, and to be fair, because it’s so ubiquitous, it can be real bland and boring. But it can also be INCREDIBLE. We have typically steered away from Chardonnay in the past, but lately, we’ve really enjoyed several great ones. In honor of International Chardonnay Day, we decided to try two new ones!

Joseph Drouhin Mâcon-Villages 2021

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Our first wine hails from the Mâconnais, a subregion in the south of Burgundy, France. This region is the home of the village Chardonnay itself! Being further south, it’s a little warmer than the rest of Burgundy, so the grapes are a little riper. Also thanks to the warmer climate, this area of Burgundy mostly grows Chardonnay and doesn’t grow much Pinot Noir, Burgundy’s other very well-known grape. As mentioned, the warmer climate makes the fruit quality taste a little riper, like Chardonnays from California. However, Mâcon doesn’t typically use oak in their wines or utilize malolactic fermentation quite like California does, so the wines are often more bright and fruit-focused.

This one reminds us of ripe yellow apples with even some green apple mixed in. It’s crisp and bright with acidity but with a subtle creaminess to it. It’s a really pleasant wine to drink!

Chardonnay from Burgundy can be extremely expensive, but the Mâconnais makes affordable Chardonnay that doesn’t need any aging.

This wine sells for $25 at Jacob Liquor.

Jordan Chardonnay, Russian River Valley, Sonoma County 2021

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We moved over to California for our next Chardonnay. This one smells of sun-baked apples in a warm orchard, or like warm apples in the middle of an apple pie. There’s even a little lemon curd in there. It’s creamy and more full in the mouth than the French Chardonnay. There’s just a touch of vanilla, but it’s balanced out with some crushed gravel mineral notes as well.

This wine sells for $38 at Jacob Liquor.

We’re starting to find that we really enjoy a good Chardonnay, and we’d recommend both of these! Or send us your own favorites to try!

Happy International Chardonnay Day!!!