With over 500 documented native varieties, Italy is home to more indigenous grapes than any other wine-producing country.
Add regional clones to the mix, the estimated count jumps to well over 1000; such statistics raise the question: in a country with such rich natural diversity, why have winemakers across the country chosen to vinify Chardonnay?
Turns out, the reasons are numerous – and the results speak for themselves.
History lesson
Chardonnay’s arrival in Italy is most commonly attributed to Napoleon Bonaparte's troops, who implemented a forced replanting of native varieties and generations-old vineyards.
The grape became cultivated alongside – and frequently mislabeled as – Pinot Bianco for decades, quietly flying under the radar in vineyards across northern Italy.
Decades later, Giulio Ferrari, founder of Trento-based sparkling wine house Ferrari, was credited with planting the country's first documented Chardonnay vineyard in 1897, with the goal of producing premium bottle-fermented sparkling that could stand up against Champagne.
However, the cultivation of Chardonnay on a commercial scale monumentally took off a century later, when Angelo Gaja planted the first Chardonnay vineyard in Treiso, Piedmont in 1979. His son, Giovanni Gaja, explains that, at the time, selling Nebbiolo on the international market was extremely difficult, as wines produced from the grape were much more austere – and lesser-known in general – than they are today.
"My father understood that presenting a 100-percent Chardonnay was a great way to create interest for the region, as consumers were already accustomed and knowledgeable about the grape," he says.
At the time, Gaja explains that the majority of local Barolo and Barbaresco vineyards – especially those with desirable eastern, western, and northern exposures – were planted to Nebbiolo, and even still, the prized red variety still frequently struggled to attain ripeness.
"Rather than planting on the northern-facing slopes with even less sunlight, my father planted Chardonnay on 'Nebbiolo terroir', as he wanted to make something high-quality and ageable – like the same personality as Nebbiolo," he says. The results spoke for themselves; international customers fell in love with Gaia and Rey, the estate's brand new, 100-percent Chardonnay wine. A decade later, Angelo Gaja planted an additional five hectares in Serralunga.
Elsewhere in Italy, Querciabella first introduced Chardonnay to its Tuscany-based vineyards back in 1992. Winemaker Manfred Ing attributes the decision to founder Pepito Castiglioni's great love of sought-after wines from Bordeaux and Burgundy, especially those from Bâtard-Montrachet.
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