A toast to darling-grape Chardonnay

If there’s one grape variety that deserves to be celebrated, it’s got to be Chardonnay. Not only is it the ingredient of white burgundy and an important part of the blend of most champagnes, Chardonnay is responsible for a disproportionate amount of the world’s finest whites and simply the number-one selling white wine varietal in the world. The grape has upholstered vineyards almost anywhere and so in Malta, too. Here it is the second widest planted green-skinned variety only after our native Girgentina. Chardonnay’s reputation as a home-grown wine is better than ever, with winemakers in Malta making top-quality examples. Because the variety’s character is rather neutral, the wine may turn out to be a ‘picture postcard’ of where the grapes are grown. Depending on the place, a Chardonnay will taste tarter and more of apple, pear or lemon - as is usually the case in cooler areas - or perhaps broader and more of pineapple or melon and honey - like when the grapes come from warmer regions. With little personality of its own, the Chardonnay grape also easily submits to and expresses the will of the producer. Put differently, it lets itself be turned into a wider range of wines...