Chardonnay is a thousand year old small village in Mconnais in the southern portion of France’s burgundy region. The famous wine Chardonnay most likely originated here and was then spread throughout France by the monks. The earliest recorded reference to Chardonnay occurs in 1330 when Cistercian monks built stonewalls around their ‘Clos de Vougeot’ vineyard exclusively planted to Chardonnay grapes. There is another hypothesis that points towards Lebanon when it comes to the origins of Chardonnay, but with no written references. Another direction points to an Austrian vine very similar to Chardonnay, called Morillon. The name Morillon has been used during the middle Ages in the region of Burgundy and was an old name for Chardonnay in the region of Chablis.
Murray Tyrrell from Australia changed the course of history for Chardonnay by bringing the HVD vineyard in 1982. Chardonnay is the most widely planted variety in Australia and also in NZ. There is more Chardonnay than Cabernet Sauvignon or Shiraz.
Lately Chardonnay has become a common girls name and has had a terrible press starting with the ABC (Anything But Chardonnay) movement. Critics...