Its adaptability to different soils and climates, and malleability in the wine room make Chardonnay one of the most popular and ubiquitous grapes. Responsible for some of the world’s most thrilling white wines wines including Champagne, it is in its homeland of Burgundy with villages such as Chablis, Meursault and Puligny-Montrachet that producers craft arguably some of the world’s finest wines. Chardonnay is also synonymous with California, where it can display riper, tropical fruit flavors, rather than the more restrained stone fruit and steely, mineral qualities often associated with its Old World and cool climate counterparts. While there are terrific fresh and vibrant Chardonnays made solely using stainless steel, the grape also knits terrifically well with oak, lending greater depth and weight in the form of a nutty, toasty and somtimes buttery component.
Tasmania is the 'Island State' of the 'Island Continent', and the most southerly state of Australia. It lies 150 miles (240km) off the coast of Victoria, on the opposite side of the Bass Strait – a relatively shallow channel which separates the Great Australian Bight from the Tasman Sea. The climate here is markedly different from the mainland, and Pinot Noir and Chardonnay dominate the vineyards, making light, elegant still wines and some of Australia's best sparkling wines.
Coal River Valley is a relatively recent addition to Australia's wine industry, with the first commercial vineyards appearing in the 1970s. Now, there are a handful of small-scale wineries operating in the area, taking advantage of the cool, dry conditions to make focused, taut examples of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Riesling, all Tasmania specialties.
White wine is a wine whose color can be pale-yellow, yellow-green, and yellow-gold colored. The wine is produced from a variety of grape varieties. The flavor and color comes from the juice of the grape and sometimes the skin of the grape as well. Interestingly, not all white wine comes from white grapes. Some select red grapes are used as in Champagne.
