What food goes best with Chardonnay?

It’s not only chefs who need to know what food goes best with Chardonnay. Most of us who enjoy wine want to make sure the special wine we’ve saved shows its best when served.

It doesn’t matter if you have the best South African Chardonnay! If the food doesn’t work, you risk losing it all. Plus, if you’re opening the bottle because it’s International Chardonnay Day on May 25, you’ll be wanting to put on the best show possible.

The good news is that knowing what food goes best with Chardonnay – or any wine – doesn’t require a chef’s course. It does however demand a little understanding of the variety itself. Expressions of this wine can vary widely.

What is Chardonnay?

Chardonnay is a white wine grape variety that originated in the Burgundy region of France, now widely grown around the world. In addition to being an ingredient of still wines, it is what most champagnes are made from. Common flavours are citrus, apple, pear, pineapple, peach, vanilla, butter and oak. But that’s by no means an exhaustive list.

It’s also good to know that Chardonnay wine can differ in palate weight – they might be heavy or light-bodied, which most certainly will affect their best food pairing. Some are more acidic and fresher than others, and some are on the sweeter side too. All these will determine the success of your Chardonnay wine pairing.

Differences are due to many things. For example, was it matured in wood or did the winemaker use wild fermentation? Everything from clones to yeasts can influence aromas and flavours, and that’s just in the cellar. Where the vineyards grow that produced the wine and what the seasonal conditions were like, also play their part.

So, having some idea of your particular wine’s making will help answer the question of what food goes best with Chardonnay white wine. Now, if you’ve never tasted the wine before, you could visit the winery and taste it there. Perhaps there’s some insight that can be gleaned from who makes the wines and what the winemaking philosophy is. You could simply check the wine label, which will offer clues to its making, or you could also go online.

Dig into the details of your Chardonnay

Let’s use Bonnievale wines and its Bonnievale Limited Release Chardonnay 2021 as an example. The Robertson Wine Valley is after all the source of many of South Africa’s best Chardonnays. Its description notes characters of lime and grapefruit, elegance and flintiness. The Bonnievale River Collection Chardonnay 2022 by comparison, is a younger, medium-bodied wine with those same aromas of citrus, but there’s also peach and sundried fruit.

Once you’ve got an idea of the wine, it’s time to turn to the food. Here, the choice is broad. Don’t stumble on the old cliché of white wines exclusively being for white meat like chicken or fish, or reds with red meat. Sometimes, the most unexpected combinations offer the best surprises. Like Bonnievale’s new River Collection Moscato Rosé Perlé which is an absolute winner with a spicy curry.

To find your food of choice for the pairing – what food is good goes best with Chardonnay – employ broad strokes. You’ll want to keep in mind that opposites can work marvellously together, like a light wine with a heavy dish, but not always!

If you’re pushed for time, then start looking for what food goes best with Chardonnay among these ideas:

1. Explore cheeses: some are strongly flavoured others mild.
2. Pasta and risotto are popular choices for white wines but remember sauce and ingredients can have a major impact.
3. Chicken or seafood are good too but consider the wine’s palate weight to narrow it down.
4. Fresh fruit and nuts make great partners with Chardonnay.

If you pursue these tips, you will discover what food goes best with Chardonnay – and your specific Chardonnay wine in particular. After all, wine is about exploration and enjoyment, and navigating
the flavours and aromas of the wines is part of the enjoyment. Get to know the wine before you start on the food and soon you’ll have the answer to what food goes best with Chardonnay!