Chardonel

We're keeping the travel short today. After all, this has been a grueling three months or so taking you around the world day after day to taste both the finest and most obscure wines in the world. After sleeping at home last night, we're getting in the car. The drive north on Interstate 575 is rolling and bit twisty as the elevation continues to rise. After 30 miles or so, the interstate highway ends and we move to less traveled roads, first Highway 515 and then US highway 76 that traverses the border of Georgia from Tennessee across parts of North Carolina and then South Carolina. Of that selection, we're near the center, in the highest altitude part of the state bordered by the Chattahoochee National Forest to the southwest and the Nantahala National Forest to the northeast. We're here to drink Chardonel.

Chardonel, is a hybrid of Chardonnay and Seyval Blanc. It's frequently grown in non-traditional wine producing regions because it stands up well to weather. Neither rain, nor snow, nor summer heat, nor winter freezes seem to damage the grape. It's also a young grape, first bred in the early 1950s in New York (state). And, its purpose was to withstand the winters of the upstate grape growing season.

Quite green in color, this grape is easily mistaken in bunches for the table grapes you get when out shopping. When bottled, however, it produces a white wine not unexpected given its parents.

On the nose, we get apples, buttered cinnamon toast fresh from the toaster, and tropical fruit. On the palate, there is a real buttery sense likely from the American oak barrels and the fermentation process. We also get notes of pineapple, mango, and kiwi, with a bit of warm apple pie.

Pair your Chardonel with fish and creamy dishes such as fettucine alfredo or New England clam chowder.


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