Chardonnay

Homebrew quality wine kits based on Chardonnay grapes will always give you a very good homemade wine, ready to drink in 6-8 weeks but will improve with ageing. For maximum quality, combine with toasted American oak chippings to achieve just the right "smoked" Chardonnay flavour and complex character.

This is the most well known of the worlds white wines. In France, the grapes are widely planted in the Chablis and Burgundy regions. In Italy it can be found in the Trentino and Friuli regions.

Giulio Ferrari introduced this vine in Italy at the beginning of the 20th century in an attempt to repair the Italian viticulture that had been severely hit by phylloxera.

The wine made from Chardonnay grapes is often aged in small oak barrels to produce strong flavours and aromas. The character of the wine is fruity - often described as citrus flavour - and the subsequent ageing in barrels introduce flavours like "oak" or "vanilla", often with a buttery flavour from the malolactic fermentation.

Very high quality winemaking kits will often include oak chips to create the effect of barrel ageing. For Chardonnay wine, toasted American oak chips will usually give the best result on your homemade wine, creating just the right smoky flavour.

Chardonnay grapes are sometimes called Pinot Chardonnay, in France it is also known as Aubaine, Beaunois etc and in Austria it can be named Feinburgunder of Morillon.

Using selected clones of Chardonnay together with cold fermentation methods, Australia and New Zealand have succeeded in producing world-class wines in recent years.

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