Category: i4C

That chardonnay is oh so cool…

Great venue

 A few weeks ago I attended the Discover Chardonnay tasting at the Roy Thompson Hall here in Toronto. It was to finish off the International Cool Climate Chardonnay celebration taking place over the weekend in the Niagara wine region. I was so excited about this event. I couldn’t make it out to wine country so I just let the wines of the world come to me.  I just love chardonnay. I know that there are many people who are very “ABC”: anything-but-chardonnay.

Well, I say to those ABCers: “try a cool climate chardonnay!”

I was eager and early
Ontario Represent!

So what’s the big deal with cool climate chardonnay? Well, usually when you say “chardonnay”, people often imagine a style of wine that’s super buttery, oaky with high alcohol. Sometimes, this style of wine can also be quite flabby. This style of wine penetrated the marketplace and gave the grape a bad rap. Bigger ain’t always better!  This type of wine will often come from a warmer climate where the grapes ripen sometimes too well. The riper the grape, the more sugar it will have. When sugar increases, acid decreases. Acidity is what gives wine it’s “zing!”…it’s liveliness.  Warmer climates sometimes have a harder time maintaining the acidity in their wines because, well, you guessed it – it gets too warm.  Don’t get me wrong, I’ve had some wonderful chardonnays from warmer climates. There are some stellar examples in my wine rack. I’m just saying that we need to start looking at the cooler climates of the world to save chardonnay from being alphabetized…no more ABC!

My favourite sound – pop!

What is considered a cool climate? Many factors contribute to creating a climate that is considered cool:

latitude (how far north or south the location is from the equator)
altitude (how high up the vineyards are)
proximity to large body of water (water acts like thermal regulator)

Cool climate chardonnays really show their sense of “place”. They express where they were born and raised. Chardonnays coming from cooler climates are delicate, elegant and have wonderful minerality. They can be extremely refreshing (from that great acidity) and complex.

Candians make great wine!

It was great to see so many Ontario wineries represented.  I’m a huge advocate of Canadian wine. Specifically, Ontario wine. We have such wonderful “cool climate” factors for producing examples of yummy mineral-driven chardonnay:

Tawse
Lailey
Inniskillin
13th Street
Flat Rock Cellars
Angels Gate
Coyotes Run
Hillebrand
Closson Chase
Le Clos Jordanne

www.coolchardonnay.org/category/winery/canada

“Thirty Ontario wineries started the International Cool Climate Chardonnay Association – a not-for-profit group devoted to reinstating the dignity of chardonnay.” – http://www.coolchardonnay.org

www.coolchardonnay.org/category/winery/founding-member-wineries

I’m a lover of Ontario Chardonnay. I’ll shout it out loud! I did, however, taste some lovely Chardonnays from other parts of the world. Don’t hate me Ontario. My love affair with you will never be overshadowed.

Vie di Romans

This Italian Chardonnay was one my personal highlights of the tasting. It was spectacular. Too bad you can’t buy it anywhere yet!

“located within the DOC zone of Friuli Isonzo, in the most easternmost area of northern Italy, close to the Slovenian border. The Adriatic is barely 20 km (1243 miles) to the south, and the first slopes of the Alps about 30 km (1864 miles) to the north.”


Interesting read:
www.coolchardonnay.org/node/1038

I think Chardonnay is one cool grape. No more ABC! Unless it’s the Jackson 5. Enjoy!

Cool Chardonnay

ABC. Not only are these the first three letters in the English alphabet, these three letters also signify  a horrible acronym meaning “Anything but chardonnay”. It’s time to rid the wine world of this “ABC” attitude and change it to mean “All about chardonnay”. Wait, wouldn’t that be AAC?

Why has chardonnay gotten such a bad rap? Well, I think it’s because the market has been saturated with so much bad chardonnay that it’s given the grape a bad name. Lots of overly oaked, flabby wine has deceived the public that this is the only style of wine that this grape can make. Totally not true! I myself am a HUGE lover of chardonnay.   Like our friendly grape – Riesling, Chardonnay can really show off it’s “terroir” – that is, it’s sense of place…where it comes from….it’s expression of the land. It’s such a versatile grape that can be made into many different styles.

“It’s time for the re-birth of Cool…”  – www.coolchardonnay.org

“Not all chardonnay is created equal. Add in a bit of cool – cool by altitude, by latitude, by marine influence or by climatic conditions – and you have an entirely different experience. Chardonnay vines that are grown in cool climates and encouraged to allow asense of place to shine through can produce a wine that is balanced, refreshing, complex and elegant. And when done right…cool climate chardonnay can be a magical wine. ” –  www.coolchardonnay.org

The weekend of July 22-24, Niagara wine country is having a Cool Climate Chardonnay celebration and we’re all invited! For three days, many of the wineries are going to have various events from parties, lunches to tastings. Sunday July 24, in Toronto, LCBO Vintages will be hosting a large tasting at Roy Thompson Hall. For three hours you can walk around and taste cool climate chardonnays from all over the world.  It’s expensive at $95 per ticket, but it should be a great tasting. See my “hint” at the end of this post to get cheaper tickets.

“Thirty Ontario wineries started the International Cool Climate Chardonnay Association – a not-for-profit group devoted to reinstating the dignity of chardonnay. The i4c is a “coming together” of the finest examples of cool climate chardonnay in the world – a casual but in-depth weekend celebration of wine, food and learning, with an eye to reinvigorating a seriously cool wine.” –  www.coolchardonnay.org

If you want to go to the tasting at Roy Thompson Hall in Toronto, visit this site to purchase cheaper tickets:
www.coolchardonnay.org/content/blend-your-own-chardonnay-celebration