Year in, year out, it’s Chardonnay
that accounts for a monumental one-of-
five bottles of wine sold in the United
States, according to the California-based
wine research firm Gomberg, Frederik-
son & Associates. Despite the perennial
ABC (Anything But Chardonnay) litany
trumpeted by numerous wine critics and
beverage buyers (who may all be numbed,
it’s true, from tasting far too many Char-
donnays), this variety has nevertheless
charmed both discerning and amateur
palates across the globe like no other
noble white grape in history. Old world,
new world; Dijon clone or Wente; oaked
or un-oaked; aged or youthful… make no
mistake: Chardonnay remains the Queen
of White Wines, and she corners con-
sumer cash!
Combating Boredom
Some retailers, restaurateurs and hote-
liers wonder, however: Has Chardonnay’s
ubiquity bred complacency, even a certain
degree of contempt in the wine trade? A
number of industry executives believe this
to be the case, contending that too many
merchants devote only perfunctory atten-
tion to the world’s best-selling varietal.
“
In wine geekdom, many industry pro-
fessionals have declared Chardonnay is
dead; but it is still the number-one choice.
It’s important for operators to remember
Chardonnay still has a very strong guest
preference,” says Dan Hoffman, director
of beverage specifications for Marriott
International. Hoffman adds that dur-
ing 2011 and 2012, Marriott’s American
guests have been drinking more Char-
donnay as a percentage of total wine sales,
with Sonoma-Cutrer and Clos du Bois as
its two best-sellers.
“
Chardonnay dwarfs all the other cat-
egories, certainly by dollar volume,” says
Jasper Russo, director of wine marketing
at Sigel’s, a 12-store group based in Dal-
las, TX. “We sell everything from $7.99
imported and domestic screwtops to $400
bottles of Grand Cru white Burgundy.”
Russo says great selection backed by in-
store tastings are the most effective tools
to interest customers in Chardonnays of
all styles and prices.
Big as it already is, Chardonnay seems
to be strengthening its grip on mainstream
wine in America. Donna Hood Crecco,
senior director at the Chicago-based
hospitality research firm Technomic Inc.,
reports, “The incidence of Chardonnay
offerings on chain restaurant beverage
menus has increased 4.4% from the first
six months of 2011 to the first quarter
of 2012.”
At Cool Springs, a wine and spirits
store in Franklin, TN, an affluent suburb
of Nashville, General Manager Philip
Thompson says: “It’s such an important
varietal. Chardonnay has a major pres-
ence in our market. It’s the number-one
choice during summer.” Thompson cites
Kendall-Jackson, Sebastiani andmagnums
of Yellow Tail and Woodbridge as the cat-
egory’s best sellers. Beyond these staples,
a broad selection across all price points
and styles plus ongoing staff training
translate into Cool Springs’ ability to up-
sell customers to new and different styles
of Chardonnay.
Putting Variety
to Work
Emily Wines, wine director for Kimpton
Hotels & Restaurants, a San Francisco-
based company comprised of 56 hotels
and 54 restaurants in 24 cities, says, “I
see a trend among our guests and custom-
ers going away from over-oaked, high-
alcohol Chardonnays to leaner, more un-
derstated bottlings, especially those from
Napa Valley.”
Her comment serves as an important
reminder that it has become unrealistic
to discuss the category of Chardonnay
without clarifying the style(s) at hand.
While oaky-buttery-rich monsters are still
being produced in California (and are
still adored by a core of loyal imbibers),
Chardonnay’s astounding ability to take
on multiple personalities gives it a power
of stylistic diversity few other grape
varieties possess.
Noting the evolution apparent in
California Chardonnay, Katie Bundschu,
partner at Gundlach-Bundschu Winery
in Sonoma Valley, says: “Chardonnay
is a huge category with broad appeal
and diverse styles, and that in itself is
an exciting change from the days of
homogenous, oak-driven California
Chards.” Her experience in working
with accounts in many states leads her
to add, “Many top retail and restaurant
accounts are trending toward a fresher
style that uses less malolactic and less
new oak. [Malolactic treatment during
vinification adds rich, buttery flavors to
Chardonnay wines.] The most important
thing is to offer your customers a choice
of styles that display unique characters—
and then be able to help people decide
what they prefer. California Chardonnay
producers have come a long way in
offering wines that showcase unique
Chamisal Vineyards was the first winery
in the Edna Valley region of California’s
Central Coast, planted in 1973 (known
then as Domaine Alfred). The winery was
also among the state’s first to champion
an oakless style of Chardonnay, thanks to
winemaker Fintan du Fresne. When he ar-
rived in 2006, after working many harvests
in his native New Zealand, his suggestion
to craft a stainless steel-aged Chardonnay
was laughed at. “There was a perception at
the time that Chardonnay had no character
of its own; it was a product of what the
winemaker did with it,” says du Fresne.
“
I set out to destroy that myth by ferment-
ing at cool temperatures with special
yeasts and eliminating oak and malolactic
fermentation. Our Stainless Chardonnay is
completely unadulterated and captures the
essence of the grape.” It has also become
the winery’s best-selling wine and
helped to propel an oak-free trend
that many Chardonnay producers
have followed. Citrusy, mineral-
rich and fuller-bodied than you
might expect for a wine with no
malolactic fermentation or oak,
Chamisal’s Stainless Chardonnay
retails for approximately
$15 to $18.
Oak-Free &Proud:
Chamisal Vineyards
