What to drink instead of Chardonnay?

What do you buy and serve the wine lover who hates Chardonnay? You’d be surprised how many people won’t drink a Chardonnay wine because of its often heavily oaked flavour. Many new-world, bargain-priced Chardonnays are over “oaked” which means oak essence or oak chips are added to soak in the wine while it sits in stainless steel tanks. This is a far cheaper alternative to properly aging Chardonnay wine in American or French oak barrels. It is for this reason that mass-produced, cheap Chardonnay can give the grape a bad name. 

There are many alternatives to Chardonnay, which in France is grown and produced in Burgundy according to traditional, old-world methods. For this post I’m going to focus on other grape varieties grown in France including:

·      Sauvignon Blanc from Sancerre in the Loire Valley;

·      Chenin Blanc from Vouvray also in the Loire Valley;

·      Viognier from the northern Rhône Valley in France.

What is Sancerre?

Sancerre is a small wine-producing region located on the left bank of the Loire River in the eastern part of the Loire Valley in France. It is across the river from Pouilly-Fumé, another famous wine region. Sancerre is considered a cool-climate region meaning short, hot summers with longer, cold winters. Here, the Sauvignon Blanc vines are planted in gravel, limestone and flinty soils.  The soil type influences the vine and the grapes and eventually comes through in the aromas and taste of the wine. It's the soil that brings out the flinty, mineral or stone aromas in wine.  The vines in Sancerre are planted in soils that produce crisp and acidic, lighter-bodied wines with perfumed and sometimes mineral aromas. 

The climate and terroir (this is the term that describes the geography of where the grapes are grown including the weather, soils, and exact location of the vineyard) create Sauvignon Blanc wines that are dry and aromatic (meaning lots of perfumed aroma when you smell the wine), with subtle and balanced flinty, smoky and fruit flavours – think gooseberry, peaches and grapefruit. To keep the wine concentrated on the natural characteristics of the grape and terroir, these wines are generally not aged in oak barrels (because oak barrels produce other compounds and flavours in the wine like vanilla, toast and oak flavours).

Pouilly-Fumé, located across the river from Sancerre, also produces Sauvignon Blanc wines similar in style to the Sancerre wines perhaps with a little more body to them. Don’t confuse Pouilly-Fumé with Pouilly-Fuissé which is an area within the Mâconnais region of Burgundy that produces 100% Chardonnay wines.

What is Vouvray and Chenin Blanc?

Vouvray is another wine-producing region located on the right bank of the Loire River and situated east of the city of Tours. Vouvray is the home of the Chenin Blanc grape – a green-skinned grape used to make Chenin Blanc wine. Chenin Blanc wine is characterized by its aromas of apricots, honey and white flowers and flavours of honey, apricot, pear, apples, fig and even ginger. It is a crisp and naturally acidic wine.

When buying Vouvray or Chenin Blanc, look for Sec or Dry on the label.  Chenin Blanc is categorized from the driest wines, labeled Sec with high acidity offering a little residual sweetness, to Demi-Sec wines which are riper and definitely sweeter, to the sweetest wines labeled Moelleux.  Because of its naturally high acidity, Vouvray wines can age very well in the bottle given the right cellar conditions. 

What is Viognier?

Viognier wine is quite different to Sauvignon Blanc and Chenin Blanc, in fact, it’s more like full-bodied Chardonnay but with more fragrant, floral and herbal aromas. One of my friends, a non-Chardonnay drinker, said to me that enjoying Viognier wine reminds her of honeysuckle, blossoms and bees! What a nice thought! Viognier is known for its aromas of chamomile, honeysuckle, apricot and flavours of peach and pear.

Viognier is a green-skinned grape that grows in the Condrieu region of the northern Rhône Valley in France. It’s also grown and produced in California, Australia, Spain, Italy and Argentina. You can enjoy Viognier with a number of different foods from Thai food and spicy asian dishes to salads, seafood, chicken and cheese.

Good Viognier can be expensive because of the particularities with growing and harvesting the grapes. The grape needs a long, warm ripening season with just the right amount of sun and warmth – a climate that’s too hot will elevate the sugars in the grape and cancel out the fragrant, aromatic qualities of the wine.

On her web site, Jancis Robinson says: “Cheap Viogniers, especially but not exclusively basic Pays d'Oc wines, have such strangely cosmetic aromas, more reminiscent of air freshener than anything that grows in the ground, that I have been tempted to think that an artificial flavouring has been used. “ I love the way she describes wine! Choose carefully.

Watch for my follow up post to this one where I will sample Vouvray, Viognier and Chenin Blanc wines from France to let you know the best ones to buy at the LCBO  - budget no more than $30 a bottle.