Just a thank you..

[Innkeeper]

Agree with all of Bucko's recommendations, except to say that we are ABOC, anything but oaked chardonnay. The nonoaky chards are fairly easy to find if you know how to go about it. First there is Burgundy. Both northern and southern Burgundy make mostly oak free chardonnay. Middle Burgundy makes huge, expensive, oak tinged chardonnay that Americans try to emulate and end up with just oaky chardonnay.

In the north you find Chablis (real Chablis). This is almost as far north as the grape grows, with Champagne being just a little further north. The wine is often described as flinty and/or steely, and IMHO many have to acquire a taste for it. In the south is Macon, and the wines from there are collectively called Maconnaise. These are bigger and rounder than Chablis, and more like what Americans are used to. They include Macon Villages, Macon Lugny, St Veran, and Pouilly Fuisse. A Macon Lugny called "Les Charmes" Cave de Lugny is very nice and available almost everywhere.

There are also an increasing selection of "unwooded" chardonnays from Australia and New Zealand. There are also nonoaky American Chardonnays. They are hard to find, and usually from smaller producers. The best bet is to visit wineries and ask them how they make their chardonnay. It it is all stainless steel operation without any giant tea bags of oak chips, you have just found what you are looking for. One we found this way is Tobin James in Paso Robles.

Some people, like Bucko, would say "Why bother?" Chardonnay without oak can frequently be a one dimensional wine. Well, we have had some that have had dimensions added by terroir and aged vines among other things. Also have found ourselves in seafood restaurants where there was nothing but chardonnay on the wine list. Knowing how to pick out the unoaked ones helps in that situation. You will also have house guests who will ask, "Do you have a glass of chardonnay?"



[This message has been edited by Innkeeper (edited 03-27-2001).]