Yalumba is the oldest family owned vineyard in Australia. Located in Borossa Valley, it was established in 1849.

This particular wine is Non Oaked Chardonnay. 

The wine is pale straw coloured wine

On the Nose the wine has a citrus and fruity (melon and pineapple) flavor.

On the palate  It is a full bodied, mildly acidic with a fresh melon, pineapple and peach flavor and has a crisp fresh citrus finish.

Pairing  The Vineyard recommends pairing this wine with Grilled Haloumi Cheese (Greek Goat Cheese) and Cherry tomato and Watercress salad.

Traditionally unoaked Chardonnay’s pair better with foods that are lower in sweetness and higher in salt and have moderate oil or fat. Typically Chicken tikka, herbed chicken, Mildly marinated grilled fish pair well with this wine.

Incidentally the bird on the label is a ‘Cape barren goose’ an endangered species native to southern Australia.

Riva Ranch Chardonnay 2010 - from wente, California is a medium bodied, golden Color Chardonnay with flavours of tropical fruit, honey and cinnamon. It has a round mouthed feel, with a tangy after taste and a fruity finish. 


Complements Indian appetizers like glazed and sautéed cottage cheese starters. 

Personally I am partial towards the whites. In my experience while travelling around the country the most commonly available “white wine” in hotels and bars across the country in the “imported” category has been this Australian made Chardonnay. A primary reason could be its affordability, it does retail for a little less than a Rs 1000 (though its available for about $8 or $9 at any duty free shop in the country).
It is a pale yellow coloured wine, with an aromatic bouquet which is citrusy; there is also a hint of Oak.
The palate is very fruity with a pineapple, lemony caramelized taste and does have a very ‘’fresh” feel to it.
It does go well with Cheese based dishes (Chilly Cheese toastJ) and white meat.

This is another Australian made wine from the Casella wineyards in the Riveria region of Australia. This wine is widely available in India and is reasonably priced at little under Rs 1000 (inclusive of all taxes, though it would be available for about $8 at the duty free).
The wine has an aroma of Citrus, Peach and did feel there was a hint of Coconut (maybe just the Malayali in me :-D ). There was also a mild hint of Oak (which was rather odd because I did read that this particular wine from the Casella wine yard is Non Oaked ?? or maybe I am wrong..Hmmm..)
The palate has a sort of a floral creamy feel to it. It is a tad sweet and does have a dry finish.
It goes well with pastas and chicken salads (which of course i tried after reading other reviews on wine blogs ). I haven’t really tried it with other Indian food except with Methu Vada , which incidentally was a disaster J)

This White wine is from South Australia and very widely available across india.
This is a medium bodied white with a straw colour with a very very mild greenish tinge.
The Nose :  it has aroma of Peach and lime with a hint of oak.
On the palate it has a citrussy and a fruity palate and a hint of a “nutty” kind of taste. This wine does tend to get a little more “’spice”” after it has aerated a bit, which i prefer to do with this wine.
This wine does go well with the Chicken dishes and with most vegetarian dishes and also pasta.
Thus it would be a safe wine choice for most Indian foods J
On another note: This review was based  cumulatively on the times I have had this on Various Occasions though I must admit that by now I have sort of figured out which establishments Do not store the win at ideal temperatures and this wine REALLY sucks if it hasn’t been stored well.

This is white wine made from Chardonnay grape in the Chablis region in the North of Burgundy, France. I tasted this wine during the Maison Louis Jadot wines by Mr. Olivier Masmondet at the Hilton Chennai. He described this wine as “Happy wine” a refreshing wine, that makes you smile.
It s a bright Golden yellow coloured wine
On the nose it has a fresh buttery, fresh tropical fruit aroma with a hint of pepper
On the palate it has a fresh fruity taste, with a mineral and oak taste and acidic. It has a medium finish.
This Wine pairs well with Grilled Fish, Osters and Goat Cheese.

Chablis is an historic wine-producing town in northern-central France. It produces light, dry white wines famed for their minerality and crisp acidity. AOC Chablis wines are produced exclusively from Chardonnay.
Chablis is located in northern Burgundy, although the town and its vineyards are located a considerable distance (more than 60 miles/100 km) north-west of Burgundy's main wine-producing areas around Nuits-Saint-Georges, Beaune, Chalon-sur-Saone and Macon. They are in fact closer to Sancerre (Loire) and Les Riceys (southern Champagne). Consequently, Chablis has a cooler climate than the rest of Burgundy, which contributes significantly to the style of wine its vineyards produce. The effects of terroir on wine can be seen more clearly in Chablis than almost anywhere else.

This is a White wine made of the Chardonnay varietal, This is made in a Premier cru vineyard, belonging to the Chassagne-Montrachet appellation the Burgundy region of France. I tasted this wine on 6/9/2009 at the Vintage bank at Hilton Chennai, during a tasting presentation by Mr. Olivier Masmondet of Maiso Louis Jadot.

Olivier described this wine as a wine that “Makes you Think” and distinctly different from the Chablis which made you smile! He described this as a Classic feminine wine. There are only 80 barrels produced of this wine a year. So i guess we were pretty fortunate to get our hands on this vintage.

This is a straw yellow coloured wine.
On the nose, it has the aroma of honey, fresh fruit and a hint of lemon.
On the palate this is an extremely well balanced, full bodied wine with a fuity taste with a hint of peach and lemon.
This wine paired well with Smoked Salmon and Chicken and asparagus Roulade.

We have heard the adage “Never judge a book by its cover a zillion times”....I chose to ignore the advice when i saw the label of the “Fat Bastard Chardonnay” on the shelves. The Funky Hippo on the label literally begged me to try the wine and I did not regret it.


The Wine is a hundred percent chardonnay made by the 'Thierry and Guy' Wineyard...from grapes sourced from all over the Languedoc-Rousillon.
It has an aroma of butter and fruits.
On the palate: it is a full bodied wine with  vanilla, apple, cream with a taste of oak, it has a long smooth and dry finish.
The wine does pair well with a variety of Cheeses, pasta and Poultry.
DEFINITELY one of the better Chardonnays I have tasted

Interesting note from the Wine makers on the origin of the Wine makers name 


“Thierry, a renowned winemaker who had crafted wines from California to France, from Chile to South Africa was sitting in a cold damp wine cellar one winter day when the door burst open. It was Guy Anderson, his dear friend from London who had just arrived to sample the recent vintage. “It’s cold enough to freeze the balls of a brass monkey!” Guy bellowed with a big smile on his face. “Now Thierry, let’s find out what gems we have this year.”
Guy was a rebel in the wine industry believing that quality was paramount in a wine but that the average consumer hated the traditional intimidation heaped on them by most of the wine industry. The two had collaborated before and this was yet another chance to drink wine, catch up on family and enjoy a few days together. After tasting hundreds of barrel samples both were pleased with the quality, but not blown away.
The next day after sleeping in past noon due to the late night before, Thierry thought he would have Guy try an experimental wine he had in a few barrels in the back of the cellar.“Dis is an experiment wine; we left it on de lees. We try it no?” “Sure Thierry, you know how hard it is to get me to try a new wine.” Both friends had no idea that leaving the wine in barrel on the lees (yeast cells) would result is such a dramatic difference from the wine they tried the day before. It had a wonderful color and rich, round palate. Both men stood and stared at each other for what seemed like five minutes until Thierry exclaimed“now zat iz what you call eh phet bast-ard” Guy laughed with a belly laugh you could clearly hear in the neighboring town. He had used the expression Fat bastard often to describe things that were great but hearing it in a French accent made it so much funnier.
After several more glasses of this great nectar they agreed that they could not withhold it from the public. When it came to a name only one was considered. It was named after the expression that it originally evoked, Fat bastard.