I love growing up. The older I get, the less convinced I am about certain things. I value the freedom to
change my mind. When I think back to how opinionated I was in my early twenties, when I thought I had it all
figured out, I cringe. Now I am humbled and delighted to admit when I am wrong.

But anyway, this isn't about me bragging about how I've grown up into such an open minded young lady. Its
about Chardonnay. You see I thought I hated Chardonnay for years. Like many people, it had some bad
associations for me: too oaky-buttered-popcorn-jelly bean-powdered sugar-synthetic tasting. It was
something suburban moms drink in suburban bars. It was "the white" offered at open bars at tacky weddings. It
just was not cool to order Chardonnay.

But I wasn't just a hater based on these ignorant taboos. I had a bad chardonnay experience of my very
own. For some young drinkers its often Southern Comfort or say, Jim Beam that traumatizes them enough
to avoid  up into their adulthood. But unfortunately for me it was Chardonnay. For my 21st birthday, my
sister had bought me a fancy Pottery Barn goblet (yes, "goblet" not wine glass) and a bottle of Fetzer Sun
Dial Chardonnay. Well I solely consumed the bottle in its entirety. I then proceeded to drop my fancy wine
"chalice" on the sidewalk (I was outside of course) and continued my birthday festivities by drunkenly
stepping in the broken glass (I was barefoot of course). After everyone went to bed and my sister's
boyfriend picked all the broken glass out of my bleeding feet, I finished my special night by throwing
up. The next morning I vowed to stay away from Chardonnay.

Ok, so I was young, misinformed and overly judgemental.  I didn't know enough about the grape, to form such a
harsh opinion. One bad experience with one bad wine is a stupid reason to hate all Chardonnays. Now almost 10
years later, I seriously love Chardonnay. I'll admit its a new love and its taken me a while to come
around.

I recently tried an unbelievably delicious Jean-Paul Brun, Beaujolais Blanc. This was an unoaked
Chardonnay. Here you can really get a clear example of what this versatile grape is capable of. The silky,
full bodied texture was amazing, and completely balanced by the taste of butterscotch, honey, cream
and an ample amount of minerals. Fueled by my adoration of the Beauj. Blanc, I thought I'd thought
I'd try another unoaked Chardonnnay. This time it was the Paumanok Festival Chardonnay, from North Fork Long
Island. So good! This wine was full of fresh ripe apples and pears, with tremendously bright acidity. By
this point I was ready to get into some oak. I went for the Domaine Fichet, Macon Ige. This one sort of
blew my mind. The subtle oak was not like the American Butter Bomb Chardonnays that I threw back at holiday
office parties. This was a completely different wine.  There were beautiful notes of toasted hazelnuts,
citrus and a round richness, that encouraged me to finish the entire bottle in one sitting.

My conversion to a Chardonnay drinker has provoked me to try a lot of things I once hated. It turns out I
still don't like pickles and I certainly didn't love every single Chardonnay I tried. I still have my
opinions and personal taste. But my taste has broadened and it keeps broadening, which makes
drinking wine fresh and interesting. So if you think you made up your mind about hating a particular wine,
I encourage you to try it again. Try three different bottles and compare them with friends. Maybe you'll
change your mind. Maybe you'll still hate it...but at least you can feel good about calling yourself
well-informed and open-minded wine drinker.