Top 10 wine trends of 2012 – part 10

Chardonnay shakes off the ABC crowd

For many people, it was the grape variety which dominated their early wine-drinking days. Then every wine producer jumped on the bandwagon with the result that consumers became put off by its ubiquity and exhausted by the caricatured oaky styles.

“Anything but Chardonnay” became the cry – although Burgundy and Champagne’s popularity proved that the variety itself was not an insurmountable problem, rather the winemakers who took advantage of its malleable nature.

As anyone who has bothered to taste the better examples coming out of Australia during the last five years will testify, however, it is clear that things have moved on.

Now the UK trade is becoming increasingly vocal about the quality of New World Chardonnay, whether elegant Kiwi styles still eclipsed by Sauvignon Blanc, or the cool climate examples from emerging Chilean regions such as Limari.

Dr Jeremy Howard, CEO of online retailer Slurp wine, endorses this view, remarking: “All areas except Napa are now producing a more balanced style and that is being welcomed by consumers.”

Likewise, Siobhan Gillespie, London sales manager for Haynes, Hanson & Clark, is finding: “People are more open to having Chardonnay than they were a few years ago. The connotation surrounding the grape name doesn’t have the grip it used to.”

That said, there is still work to do in spreading the message to a wider consumer base that the variety they love to hate has had a makeover.

Enotria’s Ben Smith still remarks: “Chardonnay seems to be suffering an identity crisis outside of Chablis where it performs well. Despite some great unoaked examples available, I think many people are scared to order it off a list in case it’s an old-fashioned ‘oak bomb’.”

With any luck, 2012 will be the year when the message of change gathers enough momentum to shatter the remains of this prejudice which is no longer deserved.