Globally the most expensive white wines are made from Chardonnay while in new world countries, U.S., Canada, Australia etc Chardonnay is one of the two or three most popular white varieties. Strange then that the origin of Chardonnay in Australia is hazy. The table wine boom began in the 1950s and was growing strongly by the 1970s though whites bottled as Chardonnay did not exist. Where were the vineyards?
Vines arrived with the First Fleet, collected from European vineyards, while cuttings also came from Madeira and Cape Town, both with a long wine making history. More varieties arrived with the Busby collection of the 1830s. We know Chardonnay existed for a long time in Mudgee yet what was the origin? New clonal selections arrived though it was not till the mid to late 1980s that sufficient Chardonnay was being made to meet demand. Now all vineyard districts grown Chardonnay though it is no longer favoured in warm regions like the Barossa Valley. This Terrene Estates is a Glug blend from several sources.
