Around the world, Chardonnay is recognized as the most noble of white wines. It is widely planted, capable of producing a broad range of wine styles and has almost universal appeal. It is often called the “queen of white wines.”

Chardonnay was one of the first viniferas — European-style grapes — to be successfully grown in northern Ohio. While it is surely susceptible to injury from our uneven and rather harsh winter temperatures, it usually experiences less winter damage than more tender varieties, like sauvignon blanc, merlot or pinot noir. It is increasingly one of the whites upon which Ohio is building an exceptional reputation.

Chardonnay vines take their name from a village in France near Macon and yield rather longish bunches with golden berries that are almost translucent when fully ripe. As finished wines, they very much reflect growing conditions and cellaring techniques used by each winemaker.

Every fine North American restaurant offers a plethora of Chardonnay selections. Some cynics believe it became the country’s most popular white in the early ’80s because it has a name that is easy to pronounce. While there may be a grain of truth in that suggestion, a more plausible explanation is that Chardonnay is truly a great grape which produces pleasant, interesting wines and complements many styles and varieties of cuisine.

While in the early ’80s, nearly all of the Chards coming from our West Coast friends were heavy with oak. The varietals now available on retail shelves and restaurant lists offer a wide range of styles.

Some Chardonnays are grown in heavy soils, fermented and aged in oak barrels for an extended period. The resulting wines are big, full of vanilla, heavy with oak and long lived. They tend to be more amber in color and require a more complex entree to match the more intense flavor and aromatic components.

Other grapes are grown in light gravely soils, fermented in stainless steel and aged only for a few weeks or months in oak. (Some never see any oak time and are identified on their labels with ‘unoaked.’) They are fresher, lighter and less complex with a fruit up-front finish. Most foodies now prefer this style as the wines tend to match better with today’s modern cuisine. With flavors of apple, pear, citrus, peach, butter, honey, butter and vanilla, how could it not be widely accepted as an appealing food wine?

Typically, all Chardonnays go through malolactic fermentation, a secondary fermentation designed to soften the tart malic acid — think Granny Smith apple — and convert it to softer lactic acid — think milk — sometime during their first year in a wine cellar. Regardless of vineyard and cellaring techniques used, most Chardonnays age well, developing depth, complexity,and interest in the bottle.