Chardonnay Nebbiolo Vernaccia Xinomavro
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.
The Nebbiolo grape varietal is widely understood to be the fruit responsible for Italy's finest aged wines. However, its popularity and reliability as a grape which gives out outstanding flavors and aromas has led it to be planted in many countries around the world, with much success. These purple grapes are distinguishable by the fact that they take on a milky dust as they begin to reach maturity, leading many to claim that this is the reason for their unusual name, which means 'fog' in Italian. Nebbiolo grapes produce wines which have a wide range of beautiful and fascinating flavors, the most common of which are rich, dark and complex, such as violet, truffle, tobacco and prunes. They are generally aged for many years to balance out their characteristics, as their natural tannin levels tend to be very high.
Xinomavro is the predominant grape varietal of Macedonia, although it is also grown in many parts of Greece where the climatic conditions are suitable for this particular fruit. The names translates as 'acid black', which gives some clue as to the nature of this varietal. The grapes are renowned for their high tannin content, which is a result of the thick and blue-black skins found on the fruit. This particular characteristic results in a superb aging potential in wines made from the Xinomavro varietal, as time spent in barrels softens these strong, astringent tannins and allows the full range of their flavors to come through in the wine. Most commonly, Xinomavro grapes are associated with aromas of red gooseberry, spices, olives and dried fruit, such as dried tomato.