Inside the Flourishing World of Italian Chardonnay

Chardonnay’s history in Italy, like many grapes, is a bit fuzzy, but most attribute the grape’s first plantings to Napoleon Bonaparte. Just as the Roman legions brought their most prized vines across Europe, Napoleon’s armies did the same, bringing Chardonnay, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and others to what we now know as Friuli-Venezia Giulia in the late 1700s or early 1800s.

Yet, Chardonnay’s modern-day story is based more on romance and innovation than on war or legacy. Our selection are just a snippet of the numerous Italian producers making Chardonnay that are not only delicious, but are unique and specific to their terroir and to their place in the pantheon of Chardonnay across the globe.