While it was a handful of Ontario winemakers and vignerons that crystallized the vision, it seems the sentiment already existed in the collective subconscious of chardonnay producers. It’s resilient and refined. It can be steely or floral, complex or focused. It expresses terroir better than any other grape we grow. It’s time for Chardonnay to return to centre stage. It’s time for the re-birth of Cool…

The popularity of Chardonnay in the 1990’s was followed by an equally powerful “ABC” movement – Anything But Chardonnay. Whether consumers tired of the ubiquity of chardonnay or that the mass-distribution of warm-climate offerings led to perceptions that it was over-oaked and lifeless, chardonnay fell out of fashion.
 
Not all chardonnay is created equal. Add in a bit of cool – cool by altitude, by latitude, by marine influence or by climatic conditions – and you have an entirely different experience. Chardonnay vines that are grown in cool climates and encouraged to allow a sense of place to shine through can produce a wine that is balanced, refreshing, complex and elegant. And when done right…cool climate chardonnay can be a magical wine.

Thirty Ontario wineries started the International Cool Climate Chardonnay Association – a not-for-profit group devoted to reinstating the dignity of chardonnay. The i4c is a “coming together” of the finest examples of cool climate chardonnay in the world – a casual but in-depth weekend celebration of wine, food and learning, with an eye to reinvigorating a seriously cool wine.

Wine Event

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07/20/2012 - 17:30 - 07/22/2012 - 22:00

International Cool Climate Chardonnay Celebration