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Beyond Chardonnay

by Bernard Berlin

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Undaunted, his odyssey carried him to far away places that claimed to hold bottles and barrels of the prized Chardonnay. Searching, ever searching throughout the vineyards, wineries and countless tasting rooms in California, Washington State and Oregon, he wearily trekked. Tired and tattered he journeyed onward, first to the far-off wine growing regions in France, then to the Coonawarra in Australia and finally to the remote island of New Zealand—all to no avail.

“Dionysus, the god of fertility and wine must have cursed me.” He muttered aloud. Then, looking upward, drawing upon strength he did not know he still possessed, his eyes peering into the sky, he shouted. “How you mock me Dionysus, Oh how you mock me in my pursuit of the golden beauty that I seek. I have traveled far and I have tasted many wines, none of which is the Chardonnay that I crave. But, nevertheless, I have found wines that are better than Chardonnay! I have found wines from other grapes that are worthy of drinking with many dishes and…they delight my senses! I have found opulent wines…aromatic wines…and wines of singularity from other grapes. I have enjoyed many drinking pleasures that I longed for from Chardonnay in other white wines. I have reveled in the richness of Viognier, savored the maturity of Riesling and frolicked with the youthful crispness of Sauvignon Blanc. It is I who mock you Dionysus, from this day forth, with each sip of my “new” white wines.”

Now, the time has come for my confession. I am that man, who like Diogenes on his quest to find a truly honest man, have searched endlessly for a rich, creamy, and oaken Chardonnay with butterscotch and vanilla flavors. This has not been a trivial or whimsical pursuit on my part. For years, I have been trying to find a Chardonnay that would please my wife who prefers to drink good Scotch to my monomaniacal preference for wine. I have spent countless sums of money for Chardonnays that promise to meet her taste expectations of oak, vanilla and butterscotch flavors. To add to my dilemma she claims to have had such a Chardonnay in the past. As if this was not enough to compel me to satisfy her fancy, another man introduced it to her before she knew me. Now, not only is my knowledge of wine put to the test but also my male ego demands the discovery of that incomparable tasting Chardonnay.

Still another confession; I have yet to find this mythical tasting Chardonnay. In my vain search to match the taste of this other man’s Chardonnay, I have showered her with a collection of white wines that have all but dissolved her memory of “that” Chardonnay—or so she says. 

To read the rest of Bernard Berlin's article, please visit his blog here.