Grapevine of the Month: Chardonnay

It's annual Chardonnay Day on the 22nd May, so what better way to kick off our new series highlighting the different grapevines of the UK with Chardonnay. 

Who has not walked into a pub and said can I have a glass of Chardonnay as part of a round?  It is widely available across the world as one of the top five planted grapes, with each region of the world adopting their own style. 

The beauty of the chardonnay grape is that the wines made are broad, ranging from easy drinking wines through to some of the best wines in the world. Burgundy from the Côte d'Or such as a Puligny Montrachet Premier Cru can set you back over £100 per bottle. 

The vine has spread across the world with Chardonnay in all wine growing parts of the planet. It is so widely planted because of its versatility and ability to adapt to the climate and terroir. The resulting flavour profiles which can be produced in Chardonnay wines, range from green fruits, like apple and pears, through to lemon citrus and flavours of peach and nectarine.  Very ripe grapes have flavours of banana and pineapple. Chardonnay is a neutral grape and so they are very good for using in wine making processes.  It can take on flavours from oak fermentation where we can add vanilla, coconut and toasty flavours. Chardonnay is also good with lees stirring (batonnage) which adds biscuit and bready flavours or malolactic fermentations where malic acid is converted to lactic acid giving a buttery flavour and texture. You can do a lot with chardonnay and wine makers across the world have. 

We can successfully grow Chardonnay in the UK. It is the backbone of the English Sparkling wine market and accounts for around one third of the vines planted.  So there is significant experience of growing the grape in our climate. Chardonnay has a relatively early bud burst and can be vulnerable to late spring frosts, so it does need planting in the right places to reduce the risk. It is also relatively slow to ripen in the UK, one of the last grapes to ripen with harvest often in October with the challenge getting the fruit very ripe in cooler years, which requires some patience.  We tend to find that we have ‘green fruit’ and citrus flavours in UK wines, with high acidity levels and relatively low sugars making it ideal for sparkling wine production. Chardonnay does go from unripe to ripe more quickly than other grapes so in a good UK season you need to monitor ripening, or the acidity will be lost. 

So, if you wanted to grow chardonnay in the UK where would you start?  It is important to know that there are numerous clones of the variety that bring various properties such as more open bunches, some disease resistance,  vigour, acidity levels etc. so it does matter to pick the right one.  Several Chardonnay clones are well-suited and approved for the UK's climate, including 75, 76, 95, and 809.  At The Vinehouse we can source the right variety clone and rootstock for your needs.  So, if you’re looking for Chardonnay vines then contact us directly at thevinehouse.co.uk.