What the !@#$%^&*!? has happened to California Chardonnay? (A rant)

[Randy Caparoso]

I'm sorry, Jason, but I hardly think that winemakers, and the consumers who appreciate their products, have been going into Burgundian methods "blind." Like I said, tens of thousands can't be wrong. Whatever you may think, this so-called "flabby" style really is what people like. They call it "smooth." Given the choice between this and, say, the lighter, more acidic -- and usually pricier -- styles of France, it's usually no contest. Heck, that was the message brought home way back in the Paris Tasting of '76.

How many of you folks remember the late '70s and early '80s when many California Chardonnay producers, in response to criticism by writers like Frank Prial, tried to produce "food" style Chardonnays -- with lower alcohol and higher acids. Boy, were those wines panned. Thank goodness, the industry quickly backed away from that idea. As well they should have.

In relation to this, your point about blindly following the French when it comes to Chards, in fact, hardly follows if you try to apply it to Sauvignon Blanc. One one hand you're trying to say that we're veering away from a "true" (i.e. Sancerre-like) style of Sauvignon Blanc, but grousing over the fact that we're trying too hard to emulate white Burgundy when it comes to Chard. You can't have it both ways.

Besides, who's to say what is "true" about anything? They certainly don't treat Sauvignon Blanc the same way in Bordeaux as in the Loire, just as Chablis is a world apart from Meursault, and Napa, and Santa Barbara, and Washington St., ad infinitum. It's my contention that your "marketers" have little to do with this. The ultimate judges are always the consumers; and it's a smart vintner indeed who can figure out exactly what the consumers want.

Finally, the issue about "acid" in wine when it comes to food: Acidity is good for food, but not in all food contexts. In many, many instances -- like chicken served in a buttery or creamy sauce -- a low acid Chard is a lot better than a high acid one. Just as a high acid Chard is probably better with plain oysters than a low acid Chard. Some of the greatest food wines in the world, to take this further, are the decidedly low acid white and pink wines of Southern France. This is what Mediterranean style food and wine is all about.

I know you must be sick of hearing this, but my point is there's something for everything; and nothing is probably "better" than something else. Just different.

[This message has been edited by Randy Caparoso (edited 08-05-99).]