Chardonnay is a dry, white wine that originated in the Burgundy region of France. It’s typically made from Chardonnay grapes which are also used to produce Sauvignon Blanc wines. Wine experts often refer to Chardonnay as “the grape with the most complex flavor profile.”
Is Chardonnay sweet? Chardonnay is not always sweet. In fact, many chardonnays are quite dry. The level of sweetness in a chardonnay is determined by the winemaker and can range from off-dry to very sweet. The grape itself is not particularly sweet, so the wine’s final sweetness level is usually due to the addition of sugar during fermentation or through aging in oak barrels.
Other Chardonnay grape varietals can be sweeter, but they typically have the grape variety’s name on the label.
What Does Chardonnay Taste Like?
Chardonnay is a dry, acidic white wine with “crisp” or “oaky” tasting notes. It’s generally considered an easy-to-drink and food-friendly varietal, but like all wines, it has its unique flavor profile depending on region and winemaking style.
Why Do People Think Chardonnay Is Sweet?
There are a few reasons why Chardonnay is sometimes perceived as sweeter than other wines, even though they’re not. The most popular reason (no pun intended) is that many white wines and rosés worldwide have sugar added to them, and Chardonnay often gets conflated with those wines because of the popularity of white wine. Chardonnay is also often bottled in a sweeter style, so even when un-sweetened, the perception of sweetness can remain with consumers.
Why The Difference?
A possible reason is that there are different types of sweetness in the wine. Various components of wine have the potential to taste sweet. Phenolic compounds, specifically acids, can contribute towards perceiving a wine as sweeter than it is.
Other research shows that people tend to think of wines typically found in WS categories (like Riesling) as sweeter than they are. SW wines like Chardonnay tend to be thought of as dryer than they are.
When it comes to sweetness in the wine, perception can affect reality. Researchers believe this is due to the multisensory nature of flavor (i.e., taste, smell, touch), where two or more senses can influence how people perceive a wine.
The Taste:
Most Chardonnays are best described as “oaky.” Some of that oak flavor comes through in the taste. Wine writers tend to describe this taste as buttery, vanilla, or creamy. To me, it’s closer to a buttered popcorn smell. Many people don’t like that description because they think it makes it sound like it tastes terrible. Still, there are positive connotations associated with the taste of buttered popcorn. It’s also why I suppose one could argue that chard might be the most American of wines.
The Smell:
Most people report that Chardonnays have a buttery smell. Some describe it as creamy, like vanilla. These smells are usually associated with oak, which is why so many wine writers describe Chardonnays as “oaky.”
The Touch/Feel:
Chard tends to be very smooth and silky on the tongue. It’s not biting or tannic like Cabernet Sauvignon.
The Aromas:
Chardonnay fruit aromas range from apple to pineapple, depending on what they’ve been exposed to during the winemaking process. Oak aging adds a layer of flavors like vanilla and butter that contributes to a sweeter wine. Some Chardonnays have been described as having tropical aromas due to their increased exposure to yeast during fermentation and their elevated glycerol levels, and higher alcohol.
The Flavors:
Chardonnay is a white wine grape that’s related to Pinot Noir and Aligoté. It has no dominant flavor profile but can have a buttery taste due to oak aging. Other flavors associated with sweet wines are apple, pear, and pineapple.
Chardonnay is a popular choice of wine for new consumers because it can be both dry (SW) or sweet (WS). Wine professionals debate the correct level of sweetness that Chardonnay should have, but one thing’s for sure: most people think they know what it tastes like, and the majority of people think Chardonnay is a dry wine.
But that’s just perception. Reality tells a different story where most cases of Chardonnay are found to be sweet on wine lists and retail shelves. And wineshops struggle to sell these wines, especially those labeled as “reserve,” “gold medal,” and “grand reserve.”
The solution to increasing Chardonnay consumption among novice wine drinkers is not just having the sweet wines you want but also packaging and naming them correctly. Think of Chardonnay as a spectrum from dry (SW) to very sweet (WS). By offering SW and WS styles, people can “drink what they like” and have a Chardonnay to match their taste.
On a side note: the reason why so many people think they know what Chardonnay tastes like is that it’s most often found with no vintage year, which leads consumers to believe that it is “current” or “latest release” is what makes it taste good. And by putting the grape variety first in the title, people assume that Chardonnay is a dry wine.
Differences Between Oaked And Unoaked Chardonnay:
If the grape is harvested earlier and fermented on its skin, it will be richer in fruitiness. Oak aging adds vanilla and butter tones to the wine, making it softer and more full-bodied.
Unoaked Chardonnay has a lighter body than oaked Chardonnay because of the increased exposure of yeast during fermentation. It can have floral aromas but rarely in oak, so it will not have the same oaky flavors as oaked Chardonnay. Unoaked Chardonnay is usually riper and higher in alcohol content than its oak-aged counterpart because grape sugars ferment into alcohol instead of fruit acids and esters.
