Confessions of a Chardonnay Snob

Filed in archive California Wines on May 4, 2006

Are you a Chardonnay snob? Have you ever said, "I'll drink anything but Chardonnay"?

When I used to waitress many years ago, I always noticed women tended to order Chardonnay by the glass. This meant that if I had 10 women at one table, each one needed a glass of water and her wine. No, they can't share a bottle. What are you crazy? And, of course, separate checks, please!

Maybe this is where I have to admit my own snobbishness concerning Chardonnay came from. It seems to have a reputation for being a wine that "real wine drinkers" don't drink.

But, this could be changing according to Trefethen May Change Some Minds About Chardonnay: John Mariani:

It was with surprise and pleasure that I sampled a bottle of Trefethen 2004 chardonnay ($30) with a dinner of steamed lobster with drawn butter. Chardonnay is always good with crustaceans, but too many California examples will overpower the delicate sweetness of the lobster.

The aroma of the Trefethen was far from huge, yet it had a fruited delicacy that made me smile, not wince. I swirled the glass again, took a first sip and let it envelop my palate. The wine didn't explode in my mouth the way some California chards do. Instead, it expanded on several levels, each in equilibrium, from the nicely tame acids and sweet fruit to the restorative blossoming of the alcohol.

There was a sunniness in the wine and warmth, very much the product of California soil, in this case the Oak Knoll district of Napa Valley. I didn't have to work very hard to taste its virtues, as I might with a white Burgundy.