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‘Tis summer and that means it’s the season to enjoy some chardonnay, pinot grigio, and other whites.  I generally am a red drinker, but in the summer I do enjoy some refreshing white wines.  I hereby start the next series: Chardonnay.

My chardonnay exploration won’t be nearly as thorough as Project Garnacha, only because there are sooo many options with chardonnay.  I think every wine maker has one.  Why?  Probably because of a couple reasons.

1. It’s widely consumed.  You can always find someone to drink your chardonnay.
2. It’s a rather forgiving varietal to produce.  I’ve made a bit of wine myself and the chardonnays I’ve created have always amazed me.  With no formal training, I’m able to create a chardonnay that can stand up against professional vinyards any day.  The reds I’ve made have been decent, but not as good as the chardonnay.

As I type this, I’m enjoying my first contender in the Chardonnay Challenge: Veramonte.  I actually tasted some Veramonte wines a few months ago at the Cincinnati Wine Festival.  I’ve been hearing a lot about Chilean wines recently, so I was curious about Veramonte.  And I was impressed.  There is a lot of investment going on in Chilean wine and I’m looking forward to exploring wine from Chile further.  Perhaps that will be a future tasting theme.

The verdict on Veramonte Chardonnay:  I give it an 89.  It has very nice yellow delicious apple and pear flavors.  The bouquet is totally apple.  It has a nice crisp finish.  This would go great with some smoked trout, a bit of gouda cheese & crackers, with a slice of apple or green grapes.  It’s very good.  I think I’ll head to the deck to relax and enjoy.

Resources:
Veramonte Chardonnay

More posts on chardonnay to come.

Cheers!