Chardonnay: Top ten facts about one of our favourite wines
TODAY is International Chardonnay Day, celebrating the world’s most popular white wine grape.
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1. According to legend, Chardonnay owes its popularity to the wife of Emperor Charlemagne who had white wine grapes planted because she was fed up with the red wine stains in his beard.
2. The Chardonnay grape is the most planted white wine grape worldwide.
3. Although it originated in France, Chardonnay is now grown in almost every wine region on Earth.
4. Chardonnay is named after a Bourgogne village the Romans called Cardonnacum (area of thistles).
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5. In the early 1940s there were fewer than 100 acres of Chardonnay grapes grown in California. Now there are more than 100,000 acres.
6. Californian Chardonnay is usually matured in oak, giving it a buttery, vanilla taste; French Chardonnay has an unoaked, crisp apple taste.
7. Chablis and Blanc de Blancs Champagnes are made from Chardonnay. Other Champagnes blend Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay.
8. Until 2002, no babies in the UK were ever called Chardonnay. A character in the TV drama Footballers’ Wives then made it fashionable.
9. In 2002, 65 baby girls were named Chardonnay.
10. There are at least 34 varieties of Chardonnay grape used for making wine in different regions.