11/29/06 Chablis

Welcome to Vine to Wine this is your host Linda Moran. On today's program, we are answering a question from a consumer in one of my wine classes. Recently I was teaching a wine seminar and I was asked by a student what I thought of Chablis. At first, I was a bit curious because the seminar was addressing white wines from Napa Valley California. Then it hit me  He was asking about a box of white wine and not the gorgeous white wines of France. I suddenly realized I could not make any further assumptions about my audience. The Chablis that I was thinking of is the name of a wine from a region of northern Burgundy by the same name. There, Chablis is a white wine made from Chardonnay grapes. These French white wines are usually crisp and dry often with a flinty mineral quality. The good ones are Chardonnay made in a style very different from the ones we are familiar. Now the wine that my student was referencing was of course the wine that is sold usually in a box from California. California marketers sort of borrowed or co-opted the name of this white Burgundy - Chablis. Trust me even although the names are the same that is where the resemblance stops. So the answer to the question what do I think about California Chablis  I don't. Remember to send your wine questions to Linda at vine to wine dot net and thank you for joining me on today's Vine to Wine.