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The house grapes · white

Chardonnay: the white that changes outfits

Chardonnay is the white grape that changes outfits depending on the winery. It can become a light wine, tasting of lemon and green apple, or a creamy white, reminiscent of butter, vanilla and toasted nuts. And it's also one of the grapes of Champagne and of Serra Gaúcha's sparkling wine.

232 of the house's labels have Chardonnay142 made from Chardonnay alonefrom Brazil, Chile, Argentina and Portugal

Where it comes from

It's French, from Burgundy, the same homeland as Pinot Noir. And the kinship goes beyond being neighbors: in 1999, a DNA study from the University of California, Davis, published in the journal Science, showed that Chardonnay is the daughter of Pinot and a grape called Gouais Blanc.

The surprise was on the other side of the family. Gouais Blanc had such a bad reputation that, in the Middle Ages, there were attempts to ban it, without success. The study found 16 grapes born of that same couple, among them Gamay and Aligoté. In the vineyard, nobility is also a matter of mixing.

What it's like in the glass

On its own, the grape has a discreet aroma. What defines the wine is the place where it grows and the hand of whoever makes it. That's why, in practice, there are three Chardonnays:

  • Unoaked: light to medium body, lively acidity (the kind that makes your mouth water) and aromas of lemon, green apple and pear. In warmer places, it can lean toward tropical fruit, like pineapple.
  • Oaked, in a barrel: the barrel is the oak cask where the wine ferments or rests. It makes the white fuller-bodied and creamier, with hints of butter, vanilla, toast and nuts.
  • With bubbles: in sparkling wine, it brings the freshness. It's the citrusy, light part of the fizz.
A vine leaf, a bunch of white grapes and a glass of Chardonnay wine.
fig. 1From the bunch to the glass: the grape is discreet; the place and the winemaker's hand set the tone.

How to tell before you open it

On the shelf, the back label usually gives away the style. If it mentions barrel, oak or wood, expect the creamy white. If it doesn't mention any of that, bet on the fresh one. Still unsure? Ask at the store: that question is much more common than it seems.

What it pairs with

The fresh one goes well with whatever you'd eat with a squeeze of lemon on top: grilled fish, casquinha de siri (stuffed crab shell), chicken salad, sushi, shrimp pastel (fried pastry).

The oaked one can handle richer, creamier dishes: roast chicken, bacalhoada (salt cod bake), camarão na moranga (shrimp served in a pumpkin), moqueca baiana (Bahian fish stew), mushroom risotto and even stroganoff.

The bubbly one goes with the whole boteco (Brazilian bar) menu: coxinha, cod fritters, pastel, popcorn. It's a suggestion, not a law. Liked Chardonnay with churrasco? Go right ahead, and good for you for discovering what you like.

Where it shines today

In France, it makes Burgundy's great whites and covers 31% of the vineyards in Champagne, where it's the star of the Côte des Blancs.

In Brazil, the stage is Serra Gaúcha. In the Vale dos Vinhedos Denomination of Origin (DO), the country's first, Chardonnay is mandatory in the fine whites. In sparkling wine, which there is only made by the traditional method, with the second fermentation inside the bottle, using Chardonnay, Pinot Noir or both is mandatory.

In Chile, it prefers the cool valleys with a sea breeze: Casablanca, San Antonio, Aconcagua and, farther north, Limarí, where the limestone soil gives a mineral touch.

In Argentina, it's one of the three most planted white grapes (5,500 hectares in 2024, behind only Pedro Giménez and Torrontés Riojano) and it does it all: sparkling wine base, fresh unoaked white and full-bodied white fermented in barrel.

In Portugal, a country with more than 250 native varieties, it plays a supporting role: it's not on the list of the mainland's most planted, and it covers only about 2% of the vineyards in Bairrada and Távora-Varosa.

Its other names

VIVC, the international catalog of grape varieties, records 173 synonyms. A few you might come across: Beaunois, Aubaine, Morillon Blanc and Pinot Chardonnay.

That last one gets close to the kinship, but gets the degree wrong: Chardonnay isn't a Pinot, it's Pinot's daughter.

To start with: Chardonnay by price range

The price range the house saw at big stores in Brazil, in the month shown. The price changes; the range tends to stay.

Throwing a party? How many bottles to buy →

Top rated with Chardonnay

Average rating from the people who drank it (X-Wines), from 1 to 5. Tap to see the wine's page.

See all 232 labels with Chardonnay in the search →

Try this: open an unoaked Chardonnay and an oaked one on the same night and see which side you're on. Both sides are right.

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