Happy National Chardonnay Day!
Sienna Serrao
Thursday, May 26, 2022 marks the twelfth year celebrating this special wine day dedicated to lovely Chardonnay.
A Timeline of Chardonnay
Let’s have a quick break down of what exactly Chardonnay is and why it deserves its own special day!
The noble Chardonnay was born in southern Burgundy’s Mâconnais region, from Pinot Noir and the very ancient, nearly extinct variety, Gouais Blanc. The history of Chardonnay is a bit unclear, with the first written mentions dating back to the late 1600s, but more ambiguous references of the grape found nearly a decade earlier in the late 1500s. Nevertheless, for us it doesn’t quite matter as much when it came about, we’re just grateful it has stuck around!
Old World vs. New World Chardonnay
As a new world wine, Chardonnays are generally known for being oaky and buttery, whereas old world Chardonnays exhibit lean, crisp mineral flavors. The new world Chardonnays are well known, with many awards to show for its greatness. The most significant honor rewarded in the famous Paris wine tasting of 1976.
Many may know this Paris wine tasting more specifically as the Judgment of Paris, in which the Château Montelena from Napa Valley, California shocked the wine world by winning the white wine award. One way to celebrate Chardonnay Day, could be to learn more about this historical moment and the rise of California winemakers by watching the movie “Bottle Shock”, accompanied with a nice glass of Chardonnay.
After this, in the 80s, Chardonnay became extremely popular, in fact so popular that suppliers could hardly keep up with how fast the wine was flying off the shelves. Because of the high demand, this led to some poor over-oaked, butter bomb Chardonnay wines. Thankfully, since then the quality has picked back up, leaving mostly great Chardonnays, although a few butter bombs still exist, but hey maybe there were enough fans of it out there to keep it around.
Today, Chardonnay ranks number five on the list of most planted grapes across the globe, and stands at an impressive number two on the list of most planted white wine grape in the world. However, many believe it to be, or at least soon to be, the first most planted, since it is far more popular than the actual most planted white wine grape, Airén, the white grape native to Spain.
The Origins of Chardonnay Day
Back in 2009, the wine industry was struggling due to the global economy recovering from a bank crisis. In efforts to boost sales and fix the wine industry slump, as well as kick off the Memorial Day holiday weekend, Rick Bakas suggested a day dedicated to the brilliant wine, Chardonnay.
The International Holiday, Chardonnay Day, always falls on the Thursday preceding Memorial Day; therefore the date is often changing year after year.
In 2010, the first Chardonnay Day occurred, with celebrations and tasting in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Burgundy, Paris, London, New York, Miami, Austin, Chicago, Denver, Seattle, Oregon, and all throughout California.
Celebrating Chardonnay Day
The past 2 years Chardonnay Day has been held either at home or in small groups and tastings. But with live events and tasting rooms open and ready for visitors, this year is bound to be a success! So, in light of this holiday, grab some bottles of Chardonnay and host your own taste testing, attend a local winery soirée, or celebrate with family and friends on Thursday, May 26th!
Chardonnay is widely known for its incredible versatility and flavor range, so this year when celebrating, pick up some diverse bottles, such as: French oak aged Chardonnay, American oak aged Chardonnay, young Chardonnay, and sparkling Chardonnay.
Shop in our Online Wine Store and pick out some of your favorite Chardonnays!
Cheers!
P.S. Don’t forget to post photos on social media with the Chardonnay Day hashtags: #ChardonnayDay, #NationalChardonnayDay, #InternationalChardonnayDay, and #ChardDay, and have a wonderful wine celebration!