Chardonnay is a white wine grape variety native to Burgundy in France and it’s currently the most popular white wine grape variety in the world, planted literary in every wine-producing country.

The grape is very favourable among producers because it produces relatively high yields, grows in a vast spectrum of climates and can be made into a wine of acceptable quality relatively simple. The best expressions of the grape are coming from Burgundy, Champagne, California, Piedmont, Margaret River, Styria, Hawkes Bay and Stellenbosch.

The most notable and beloved style of the Chardonnay grape is coming from a very cool climate in Chablis, which is grown on mineral-rich Kimmeridgean Clay soils, resulting in dry wines, distinctively acidic, lean and steely with some capable of considerable longevity. Moving south from Chablis, in the Côte d'Or, the wines become riper and richer. Oak ageing is widely used. The prolonged stirring of the lees also adds to the creamy texture of the wines.

The Chardonnay grape is used to produce an impressively diverse range of wine styles from all over the World, including sparkling and it is the main grape of many appellations, from Champagne to Chablis.