Mission Hill Winery Chardonnay Slc 2010 750ml

Winery: Mission Hill Winery

Varietal: Chardonnay

Of all the white wine grape varietals, surely the one which has spread the furthest and is most widely appreciated is the Chardonnay. This green skinned grape is now grown all over the Old and New Worlds, from New Zealand to the Americas, from England to Chile, and is one of the first varietals people think of when considering white wine grapes. Perhaps this is because of its huge popularity which reached a peak in the 1990s, thanks to new technologies combining with traditional methods to bring the very best features out of the Chardonnay grape, and allow its unique qualities to shine through. Most fine Chardonnay wines use a process known as malolactic fermentation, wherein the malic acids in the grape juice are converted to lactic acids, allowing a creamier, buttery nature to come forward in the wine. No grape varietal is better suited to this process than Chardonnay, which manages to balance these silky, creamy notes with fresh white fruit flavors beautifully.

Country: Canada

The colder climate of Canada is not one normally associated with viticulture and wine production, but in actual fact this large northern country has been involved in wine-making for over two hundred years. Many of the grapes grown in Canada are of German and Austrian origin, countries which share many of the same climatic conditions as Canada, and thus are hardy enough to survive and flourish in the cooler temperatures of the vineyards there. Indeed, many of the characterful and distinctive wines of Canada rely on early frosts, and it is not unusual for wineries to allow their grapes to freeze on the vine for the production of the intensely aromatic ice wine. Most of Canada's vineyards are currently located in Ontario and British Columbia, and recent interest in the country's produce has resulted in many more thousands of hectares of vineyards being planted across the country.