Chardonnay has a mixed public image - revered as one of the world's best whites and despised as the white grape you can't avoid.
It has a long and well-regarded history and is used to make some of the most expensive wines. The most desired Chardonnay originates from France, and it is one of the most popular white wines in America. But the grape's popularity also led to a backlash, with the rise of the 'Anything but Chardonnay' protest movement.
In the movie Bridget Jones's Diary, Bridget drowned her sorrows with chardonnay in her quest to find the perfect partner. Chardonnay sales in Britain plummeted.
Although chardonnay is grown in many regions, its traditional home is in Burgundy, where you find Le Montrachet vineyard, home to the most expensive chardonnay in the world. In the Chablis region, chardonnay is well suited to the chalky, Kimmeridgian soil. There, it is the predominant white variety, producing a large diversity of flavours, from Corton-Charlemagne in the north to Macon in the south.
In the New World, chardonnay is grown in Australia, California, Chile, New Zealand and China. It is also an important ingredient in champagne. It partners with pinot noir and sometimes pinot meunier, giving acid and structure to the wine. It's also used exclusively for blanc de blanc, wines known for their clean, linear style in their youth.
Chardonnay is a chameleon and will take on the guise of the local growing conditions and is the perfect raw material for creative winemakers who want to place their stamps on the wine. It can yield a large array of character from floral, green apples, citrus fruit in cooler regions such as Chablis, to melon, peaches and stone fruit in the Macon region. The grape has a softer and rounder palate and lower acid levels compared with varieties such as sauvignon blanc.