Chardonnay. As soon as the word leaves your lips – it incites a reaction from whoever you’re talking to. ‘Yum!’ or ‘Yuck!’. Depending on the wine on offer and the time period, both can be correct. There’s much to unpack on the politics of Chardonnay and the role it had to play in the globalisation of wine. But one thing's for certain – a good Chardonnay is something to be revered, a bad Chardonnay is something to be avoided. Luckily, Sometimes Always is here to be your gentle guide.

Chardonnay was thought to have originated in France’s Burgundy, where arguably some of the best expressions of a traditional Chardonnay still hail from. As a variety, it is relatively easy to grow in either warm or cool climates, budding and ripening early and producing high yields. Warm climate Chardonnays are generally more full-bodied with richer, riper fruit and bold flavours, where a cool climate Chardy is lighter in body with higher acidity and less pronounced flavours. As wine spread across the globe, Chardonnay was adopted by nearly every winemaking region – some more successfully than others.

At its peak in the 1980s, there were some very good Chardonnays being produced, however, there were others of lesser quality, with many cheaper, high volume, poor quality Chardonnays muddying the noble grape’s image. Many New World Chardonnays were dismissed by Burgundian purists and grudges formed, still unthawed to this day. Ice cold cognoscenti.