By Ian Neubauer
Wine Communicators of Australia (WCA) will host Chardonnay tasting class and dinners in Melbourne and Sydney to examine the varietal’s new market offerings.
Titled ‘Is Chardonnay Suffering an Identify Crisis?’, the events will look at the new breed of Chardonnay that is hoping to up the ante on the food-friendly varietal that has been steadily losing market share to Sauvignon Blanc.
“While industry may know that Chardonnay’s style has evolved from the creamy, fat, oak dominant, often overblown wines of the 1970s and 80s, are Australian wine drinkers aware of the new breed of fresh, clean, bright and zesty wines that are closer, stylistically, to Sauvignon Blanc, than the Chardonnay of old?” the WCA said in a statement promoting the event.
The event will be hosted by two separate panels of winemakers and commentators who will chair a tasting and discussion over dinner, including wine writers Jane Faulkner and Peter Bourne, WCA patron and wine writer James Halliday, as well as winemakers Philip Shaw and Andrew Fleming, among others.
Guests will taste 12 Chardonnay brands over three courses and join the panel to discuss the future of Chardonnay in Australia: style developments, communication messages and winemaking tricks to help make the variety more appealing.
The Melbourne event will be held at Bistro Flor 555 on June 30 at 6:30pm, while the Sydney event will be held at Fix St James on July 1 also at 6:30pm.
Tickets are $120 for members or $140 for non-members. For bookings, click here.