Chardonnay's metamorphosis from country cousin to superstar

Chardonnay ranks as the world's most popular white grape, and with good reason.

Farmers love it because it's easy to grow. Vintners love it because it's easy to turn into wine. The wine trade loves it because it's easy to sell, at prices under $10 to over $100 per bottle.

Chardonnay also is one of the world's finest grapes.

Farmers love it because it expresses individual growing sites with unique flavors. Vintners love it because it expresses myriad winemaking styles. The trade loves it for reasons above.

Yet Chardonnay hasn't always been a superstar. Until the 1960s, Chardonnay was a shy country girl who never ventured from her home in France's Burgundy region.

Burgundy stretches about 150 miles from the sunny south near Lyons to the frosty north beneath Paris, in France's landlocked east. Far from rivers and seas, ancient Burgundy never attracted international trade - as did Champagne and Bordeaux, for instance. Families farmed postage-stamp size vineyards, a tradition that lives today.

"Some of these families have worked their land for 10 generations," says Burgundy aficionado Robert Kacher. "Each vineyard produces maybe four barrels per year." (That's 1,200 bottles compared to major California producers that crank out 2 million cases each year.)

"Their winegrowing is based on nature. Even yeasts for fermentation are indigenous to the vineyards. New World companies with huge vineyards can't offer handcrafted flavors," he adds. "They concoct yeast in a lab, adjust oak flavoring, adjust sugar and call it a day."

To recognize the unique qualities of soil and climate, Burgundy (like most of France) names wines for growing sites. From a field of 677 appellations, we've listed a few wines (imported by Robert Kacher Selections) for your Burgundy exploration:

2007 Bourgogne Blanc, Xavier Monnot: Grapes selected from throughout the entire region (Bourgogne) yield rich, red apple flavors with firm acidity (about $25)

2006 Chablis "Premier Cru, Cotes de Lechet" Pommier: "Premier Cru" designates one of Burgundy's finest vineyards. Rich minerality with a lacing of brown spice and firm minerality. The classic accompaniment of washed-rind cheese, shellfish and scallops (about $40).

2007 Meusault "Premier Cru, Les Chevaliers", Xavier Monnot: Powerful with depth of earth and stony minerality. Serve with white meats and the richest seafood (about $90).

In the next column, we'll explore Chardonnay's transformation from shy country girl to the Marilyn Monroe of wine.

• Advanced Sommelier and Certified Wine Eductor Mary Ross writes Good Wine. Write her at food@dailyherald.com.