Chardonnay

Chardonnay (pronounced “shar-doh-nay”) is a grape with green skins and yellow pulp, made into a white wine. While Chardonnay has long been popular in California, Oregon struggled to find a grapevine clone that did well in our climate. After years of trial and error, our grape growers are still discovering which Chardonnay plants can grow well in Oregon. In fact, now that our farmers are gaining success with the grape varietal, Chardonnay is having a bit of a renaissance here in the state. Long gone are the butter bombs made popular by California wineries, replaced with refined, elegant versions of Chardonnay from tart to those with just a hint of butter.