What is Chardonnay? Winemaker John Paul of Cameron Winery in Oregon describes the grape as he feels it should be.
John Paul of Cameron Winery produces wines in Oregon from, among others, his "Clos Electrique" vineyard site. We filmed with John Paul at Storyteller Wine Company in Portland and at the winery.
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Chardonnay is... my god you know what to me if you want to know what Chardonnay is try some white Burgundy first. That's that's my introduction to real Chardonnay I mean I came out of California and that was to me not what Chardonnay really is. It's white Burgundy and again it comes back to this thing about terroir and the vineyard and wild yeasts and a long time in the barrel and not new oak. When I do Chardonnay I ferment it with wild leaves and barrels that are no younger than 3 to 4 years old so that they can pick up a little bit tannin from the wood for some structure but they're not picking up aromatics and flavor of wood in them I want the essence of the fruit. Chardonnay is a fantastic grape variety I think it's every bit as expressive as Pinot Noir is but it's but it's but it's subtler and you need to give it time and I think the problem in new world is we tend to rush Chardonnay too much. I mean as I said earlier were impatient as Americans and letting it sit in the ring for two years it's just something that most people aren't willing to do but if you give Chardonnay a chance to sit and mature it turns into really amazing really amazing wine. And there are some better and better examples of chardonnay being made here. I mean it's an indicator when I move more north from California and I packed up my wine cellar I left all the Chardonnay behind I didn't bring any Chardonnay with me because California chardonnay, and it was stuff I was making too - it was high alcohol, it was tropical fruit it just it wasn't it just wasn't what Chardonnay should be Chardonnay should be subtle and and should be complex and it should have acidity.
