By Leslie Gevirtz
NEW YORK Jan 31 (Reuters) – Chardonnay, the world’s
most popular white wine, dates back centuries, but it owes much
of its history in the United States to a winemaker who planted
the grape in California 100 years ago.
Ernest Wente, of the family-owned Wente Vineyards east of
San Francisco, brought cuttings from Montpelier, France in 1912
and planted them in California.
Now, although worldwide there are 34 clones of Chardonnay,
most of the Chardonnay produced in California is from the Wente
clone.
“Nobody really thought about the great white grape of
Burgundy being planted here,” said Carolyn Wente, a fourth
generation member of the family who heads the winery that was
established in 1883.
“Now 75 percent of all the Chardonnay planted in California
is Clone 4 — the Wente Clone,” she added.
Chardonnay has proven to be a big success for winemakers in
Northern California. Up and down the California coast, wineries
such as Jordan, La Crema and Matanzas Creek in Sonoma, Parducci
in Mendocino and Ortman Family Wines in Paso Robles grow the
Wente clone in their vineyards.
Randy Ullom, of Kendall-Jackson wines in Healdsburg,
California described it as “the workhorse of Chardonnay. It’s
everywhere,” he said.
Corey Beck, the winemaker for Francis Ford Coppola Winery in
Geyserville, California, agrees.
Continued…
