Chardonnay

Drink away the autumn grey with Chardonnay

From our UK edition

Summer is on its way out and, like almost everyone else in my part of London, we fled the noise of the Notting Hill Carnival – in our case, to enjoy the seaside. I brought four excellent Chardonnays to sip in West Wittering while playing board games and listening to the rain lash against the windows. Autumn is certainly around the corner. And there are some excellent options from across the New and Old Worlds to ease the transition from sunshine to grey. It would be remiss to consider a nice Chardonnay without first stopping in Burgundy, the home of so many of the greats. We can come to the upstarts a little later. The 2021 Bourgogne Blanc from Jean-Marc Boillot has a little hint of age, a little hint of oak and a little hint of Puligny-Montrachet, but without the price tag.

How to wine and dine

If you dare to host a dinner party, said Brillat-Savarin, you must be prepared to be responsible for your guests’ entire happiness while they are under your roof. It’s not just the victuals you are serving. It’s an entire world. I got that sage bit of advice from the French doctor and food writer Édouard de Pomiane (1875-1964), one of the most engaging writers about the preparation and enjoyment of pain quotidien I know. At least two books by Pomiane have been translated into English, Cooking with Pomiane and French Cooking in Ten Minutes (yes, really). Neither replaces Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking or similar nitty-gritty manuals, but both are atmospheric charmers, books that can be read as well as consulted.

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