"buttery" chardonnay question

Malolactic fermentation.

It's probably best to ask in your local store for what Chardonnays they have that exhibit a lot of this character. There's no point in someone recommending something if your store doesn't carry it or if it's more or less than you plan on spending.

A good way to find the type of wine you want is to do the good old Google search on "buttery chardonnay" and read between the lines of the various responses, you will find quite a few listed. All of the Gallo wines (Gallo itself, Frei Vineyard, Marcellina, MacMurray, ...) have a characteristic buttery finish, as do the Rosemount wines from Australia, Franciscan is nice, but take a look at the Google results, note a few and wander off to you local wine merchant to talk a bit. You should be able to buy quite a few nice ones in the less-than-$20 range.

pavane

Actually, I find Freemark Abbey one of the more buttery (malolactic) Chardonnays

Chateau St. Jean makes a inexpensive buttery Sonoma Chard.

Thank you, everyone, for your suggestions. I'm making a list and googling and will buy something this weekend.

Karen

Another question... I tried to google but wasn't successful.

What causes the malolactic fermentation? Is it because the wine has a step in an oak barrel? Does this happen to all chardonnays and just some more than others?

Thanks again!! Karen

As I understand it, it's usually induced by the winemaker. I'm not a winemaker, so I can't be more specific and tell you exactly how it's done.

Malolactic fermentation is a secondary bacterial fermentation that is considered desirable in some red wines and a few whites. It may be induced by the winemaker or it may occur spontaneously. One of the by-products is a compound that gives wine the butter flavor. The oak aging may complement ML but they are not necessarily related.

Andy

I thought for sure the buttery flavor would be caused by a "churning" motion!... hehehe

Thanks everyone. I may do some tasting this evening...

Karen

Most notably, malo-lactic fermentation converts more tart malic acid into softer lactic acid. The buttery notes are a side-effect.

There are certainly specific bacteria which are used to innoculate the wine to induce MLF.

Dana

The compound (from lactobacillus induced MLF) that gives the buttery notes is diacetyl - also found in butter. I read somewhere that it is diacetyl that gives artificial butter flavour to cinema popcorn. Fans of Seinfeld will know that Jerry would rather have artificial butter flavour than real butter on his popcorn. I do not know his opinion of buttery chardonnay. If I never have an overoaked soft buttery chardonnay again it will be far too soon. Martin