WineXpert Chardonnay versus Riesling Whites

[JerryF]

Have an opportunity to pick up a couple of WE chardonnay kits at a very reasonable price. Thing is, I've never had a chardonnay, having stuck to a variety of Riesling whites over the last several years. How does a chardonnay compare to a Riesling? Any comments or recommendations? I am thinking of flavoring half the chardonnay (assuming I get it at all), with a blueberry flavor pack but I am interested in a straight chardonnay too.
Jerry

 

[olusteebus]

In short, A riesling has a more floral aroma characteristics with crisp tastes of pineapple, apricots, honey.

Chardonnay has not as crisp flavors of melon and citrus and often has a buttery feel due to being mixed with semillion and oaked.

I recommend buying a moderately priced bottle of each and enjoy them both.

 

[heatherd]

For commercial wines, I typically find that the Rieslings are sweeter and the Chardonnays are dryer. Also many Chardonnays have had MLF which means that the more fruity and tart aspects they might have are gone. Riesling typically is unoaked, while the opposite is sometimes true of Chardonnay.

In short, not usually a lot of similarity. That said, without oak and MLF they have more in common. And you'll be able to make yours however you want.

Heather

 

[cintipam]

Hi JerryF

I love to mix fruit with grape juice buckets. I do it all the time, and I do it the way I like it. For instance I make even traditionally sweet wines dry, and mixed with fruit that is often described as a flavor that comes thru in an aged wine. That being said I personally would not mix blueberry with chard. At the very least I'd recommend using a cup of the bottle you buy to test with some blueberry extract flavoring found at most LBHS. I can't imagine what the blend would be like, but if you try it and like it then full speed ahead on your personal blend.

Right now I have a young batch of chard (from the fall juice buckets) that I have mixed with pawpaws, frozen mango, and hinnomaki yellow gooseberries. It is amazingly good already even at 4 months of age. Lucky I made a double batch as folks are already requesting more of it.

Pam in cinti

 

[Boatboy24]

If you have an opportunity to make a couple kits, try one with little to no oak and one with more substantial oak. Being kits, you can't do one MLF and one without, but this might give you a way to try different styles of Chard.

Which WE kits are they? From what area of the world. That will give some idea of what style they are striving for.

 

[GaDawg]

I think comparing chardonnay to Riesling is like comparing chicken to pork

 

[seth8530]

At the end of the day, taste like chicken.....

Not really, in all honesty, they Chardonnay is a very versitile style of wine. But, I think the others have already covered this conversation. If I was you I would hold up on adding any kind of fruit juice to these wines until you figure out and truly understand the wine you are making and tasting.