Ah, Chardonnay. So common, so versatile that almost every winemaker keeps one in her portfolio. Warm or cool climate, good ol’ Chardonnay performs. The grape offers up a clean slate on which to stamp a style – from steely naked minerality to barrel-oaked creaminess and lots of variations in between.
Is that bad?
I wonder sometimes, because the posts and tweets I read consistently bemoan the commonness of it all – as if saying where is the art if everyone can do it? Or, to be novel and trendy – as social media demands – wine writers search for and ultimately find a previously unknown indigenous grape from a newly discovered or unheralded wine region.
What? New grape? New wine region? I’m in! But let’s return for a moment to the humble Chardonnay. To me, it’s like seeing the house wren at my bird feeder. I love its rounded little body and warm chestnut-brown color. I’d miss him if he flew away. Would I like to see an orange-crowned warbler, too? You bet!
When the grapes are good quality and the wine is well crafted, Chardonnay can be a welcome companion to salads, seafood, poultry, and soft and some hard cheeses. When oaked, and I don’t mean over-oaked, Chardonnay even complements meat dishes.
My advice is to go boutique when choosing Chardonnay. A small winery is likely to take advantage of Chardonnay’s easygoing pliability to experiment and create highly quaffable, relatively complex wine. I tend to favor cool-climate wines, so my haunt is frequently the Finger Lakes region of New York State.
Best known and deservedly praised for their Riesling, winemakers here also know how to do justice to Chardonnay. I’ve enjoyed clean and occasionally innovative Chardonnay from places like Fox Run Vineyards and Anthony Road. Recently, I opened a 2016 Dr. Konstantin Frank Chardonnay. A pioneer in bringing vinifera grapes to the Finger Lakes – and one of its bigger producers – these wines display the high acidity I love in white wine. The 2016 Chardonnay is lightly oaked (barely noticeable really) and pale gold, with yellow Delicious apple on the nose and decidedly green apple on the palate.
Recognizing Chardonnay isn’t everyone’s thing, and with the Super Bowl contenders now determined, here are four whites to pair with four styles of game-time chicken wings. Just be sure to purchase organic, free-range, and preferably grass-fed chicken, for the good of the planet, please, and best taste.
- Chardonnay and lemon-pepper/sage chicken wings – The apple flavor profile of Chardonnay will complement the sage. I can attest to this combination.
- Torrontés and curried chicken wings – If you like Gewürztraminer with your Indian food, Torrontés is for you! A white Argentine grape variety, it’s peachy and flowery with good acidity.
- Albariño and Cajun chicken wings – Stone fruit (peach, apple, pear) and a touch of citrus dominate this high-acid white wine from Galicia in so-called “green” Spain. Just right for your blackened wings!
- Vermentino and Mexican chicken wings – A little cilantro and lime mix it up well with this white variety from Sardinia, Italy’s second largest island. Vermentino is similar to Sauvignon Blanc – typically showing pear, grapefruit pith, and almond.
Invite friends to your party. Mix and match. What do you think?