Unoaked Chardonnay

Chardonnay is one of those grape varieties that takes oak treatment extremely well and consumers just love the toasty, vanilla, creaminess it adds. In fact, oak is what gives the “vanilla of wine” most of its character as it’s pretty bland without. Most producers worldwide use it, often overdoing it. However, some producers choose not to oak their Chardonnay. Chablis in Burgundy was known for its unoaked Chardonnay before many winemakers jumped on the oak bandwagon. Selected producers elsewhere in the world create unoaked version. Truthfully, it is very difficult to make a really good unoaked Chardonnay. Without oak, this grape must rely on other winemaking techniques to add character and even then, great ones are hard to come by.