Chardonnay is the most popular and most planted white grape variety in the wine world and for good reason: It grows well in the vineyard, it crops well, maintains its character in a variety of climates and is relatively easy to make into good wine. Chardonnay excels most in cooler climates where its peach and melon flavours are backed by more minerally characters. It has a great affinity for absorbing the flavours of oak via fermentation and maturation in barrel. French oak marries particularly well with the natural chardonnay flavours adding savoury, spicy elements.

It has a long history and the story goes that amongst the spoils the Crusaders took from the Holy Land were the lemon tree and some chardonnay cuttings. Those cuttings hit pay dirt in the soil of Burgundy where chardonnay still produces France's greatest white wines. To the north of Burgundy chardonnay is one of the integral ingredients in France's gift to the world, champagne.

Chardonnay is an early budder and an early ripener and excels most in cooler climates where its peach and melon flavours are backed by more minerally characters. It has a great affinity for absorbing the flavours of oak via fermentation and maturation in barrel. French oak marries particularly well with the natural chardonnay flavours adding savoury, spicy elements.

Befitting a complex, highly flavoured white wine chardonnay prefers complex rich flavours in the food it is served with. Rich fish dishes such as crayfish, scallop and crab are particularly well suited.