Frequently Asked Questions
Is Chardonnay a white wine?
Chardonnay is a green-skinned grape, so almost everything made from it is white, including nearly all of this page. Two exceptions are worth knowing. Sparkling rosé blends Chardonnay with a red grape like Pinot Noir, which is why a bottle here might look pink. Chardonnay Icewine stays white but turns sweet, and gets served in small pours. The skins carry no colour into the wine. Anything pink in a Chardonnay glass got there from another grape, which is what you are seeing if a rosé turns up in your filter.
Is Chardonnay sweet or dry?
Almost always dry. The confusion is understandable. Oaked Chardonnay tastes round and buttery, and our palates read that softness as sweetness even with very little sugar in the glass. Texture is doing the work, not sugar. If you want a genuinely sweet one, look for a late-harvest bottling or a Chardonnay Icewine, both of which say so plainly on the label. The rest is dry or close to it, barrel or no barrel. A few carry a couple of grams of residual sugar to round the edges. Where that happens, the tasting notes list it in grams per litre.
What does Canadian Chardonnay actually taste like?
Crisper than most people expect, and easier to place once you know what to look for. Green apple, pear and lemon do most of the talking. Tropical fruit almost never turns up. Prince Edward County adds a chalky edge off the limestone underneath it, which you can taste in the Casa-Dea. Lakeshore bottles run a touch rounder, and Okanagan fruit ripens further into peach. If a glass tastes broad and soft with no lift at the end, it is probably not Canadian.
How much should I spend on a bottle of Chardonnay?
Around $20 buys a well-made unoaked bottle for a weeknight. Between $25 and $40 sits most of the barrel-fermented and single-vineyard wine, and that band is where Canadian Chardonnay gets interesting. Above $60 the page thins out fast, and most of what is left up there is gift packs or icewine rather than dry Chardonnay. The dearest single dry bottle here is $80. You do not have to go anywhere near that to drink well. The mid-twenties covers most of what is worth trying.
What should I serve with Chardonnay?
The style matters more than the occasion here. Unoaked is built for shellfish, so lobster, oysters, grilled shrimp or a plate of BC salmon all work. Oaked Chardonnay wants something with fat to push against: roast chicken, or corn on the cob dripping with butter. Smoked salmon is the safe answer either way, and it is hard to go wrong with a plate of Atlantic lobster. If the table cannot agree, open one of the sparklings and let it sort itself out.
