LEGENDS OF CALIFORNIA CHARDONNAY

Winemakers who raised the bar for the Golden State’s star white grape

- MARYANN WOROBIEC

It’s a Golden Age for Golden State Chardonnay. A high bar for quality has been set, and there are more outstanding- and classic-scoring bottlings than ever. The wines—whether dis-tinctive single-vineyards or inspired regional blends—show exquisite balance between elegance and power. It’s no wonder that Chardonnay is the most popular white wine in the United States.

But it wasn’t always that way. Thanks to a group of vintners committed to excellence, Chardonnay has evolved in California from inconsistent wines to a landscape of expressive styles often built for the cellar. In this story, we profile seven Chardonnay titans, winemakers who have paved the way to the quality wine lovers expect today. Many were inspired by Burgundy, the grape’s spiritual home. But rather than just preserve tradition, these leaders have applied science and decades of experience to fine-tune their own methodologies, knowing that their decisions in the vineyard and cellar will have transparency in the wines they produce.

Here, we focus on winemakers who have had the biggest influence on California Chardonnay so far, but there are dozens of others who also elevate the category and are worthy of praise. For a look at some of the future’s potential legends, see “Talent Show,” beginning on page 55.

Mark Aubert

THE ARCHITECT