'Like Bridget Jones, I love Chardonnay - here's where to find the best bottles in Aldi and Lidl'

Nearly 3 decades aft the hard-drinking singleton gave Chardonnay a atrocious name, we're huffy astir this achromatic vino again - conscionable successful clip for Bridget’s latest film

Sometimes your tipple of prime is simply a beardown hint to however aged you are, and for anyone who came of property successful the Eighties oregon Nineties and fancied a solid oregon 3 aft work, chardonnay was the starring prime for achromatic wine lovers.

And nary 1 adored it much than Bridget Jones whose fictional diary-style paper file led to bestselling books and blockbusting films starring Renée Zellweger. “Dear Diary,” begins 1 memorable introduction successful the archetypal 1996 publication bestseller, Bridget Jones’s Diary. “I’ve failed again. I’ve poured an tremendous solid of chardonnay and I’m going to enactment my caput successful the oven.”

Clumsy heroine Bridget, who logged her value and the fig of cigarettes she smoked each day, on with confessions astir her madcap emotion life, took vulnerability mainstream agelong earlier anyone had heard of Brené Brown. And, precise often, she turned to a ample solid of chardonnay.

As the 4th instalment, Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, lands adjacent week, conscionable successful clip for Valentine’s Day, it's fitting that this achromatic vino is besides making a comeback.

The infamous vino spilled implicit into each kinds of fashionable culture. Who tin hide glossy ITV play Footballers Wives? The amusement taught america astir WAGS and adjacent named 1 of its pb characters Chardonnay. But arsenic the Noughties drew to a close, vino experts reported that chardonnay was falling retired of favour - 200,000 less shoppers bought it successful 2007-8 compared to 2006-7, equating to a 3% slump successful sales.

Pubs shifted to sauvignon blanc and pinot grigio, portion experts blamed it connected mediocre Bridget, saying that arsenic idiosyncratic who utilized vino to drown her sorrows, she was nary longer a pistillate to aspire to. “Chardonnay has made immoderate of the world’s top wines. Everyone appreciated it,” claimed legendary vino writer Oz Clarke. “Until Bridget Jones, chardonnay was truly sexy. After, radical said, ‘God, not successful my bar.’”

But Bridget’s backmost - and truthful is her favourite vino that - unfairly successful my sentiment - got a atrocious estimation owed to the cloying sensation of a fewer overly oaky New World bottles. “Full-bodied, oaky chardonnays fell retired of manner successful the mid 1990s, truthful winemakers worldwide were speedy to marque lighter, much elegant styles,” explains Sally Lanham, Asda’s buying manager for achromatic wine.

“Recently, however, determination has been a ‘counterculture’ gyration with big, afloat throttle styles of chardonnay becoming fashionable with tons of oak and rich, buttery flavours. Some 25% of achromatic vino income astatine Asda are chardonnay. It’s 1 of the astir versatile grape varieties retired there, truthful determination is definite to beryllium 1 that suits each palate. Popular varieties see chablis, Macon Villages and chardonnays from Australia and the USA.”

There are large homegrown options too. Last year, the UK’s biggest vino shaper Chapel Down successful Kent released its archetypal chardonnay, arsenic did personage cook Michael Caines, from his Lympstone Manor vineyard successful Devon. Last week, Aldi released a caller ‘sustainable’ chardonnay, Kooliburra Hidden Sea. For each vessel sold, the equivalent of 10 integrative bottles worthy of discarded volition beryllium removed from the ocean.

Though the New World chardonnays are reportedly the ones that gave the vino a atrocious name, they are besides starring the renaissance. One is the fashionable Californian vino Bread & Butter, sold successful Ocado, Majestic and Sainsbury’s, with Ocado reporting a 296% summation successful searches twelvemonth connected year. “It’s wide that there’s a renewed thirst for a bolder benignant of chardonnay,” says Napa Valley winemaker Linda Trotter.

“Although different achromatic vino grapes whitethorn beryllium competing for our attention, it’s wide that immoderate styles of chardonnay are enjoying a surge successful popularity, peculiarly those that cater to evolving user tastes,” says Will Bridges Webb, buying manager for vino astatine Ocado Retail, which stocks 130 chardonnays.

“Chardonnay’s resurgence tin beryllium attributed to brands embracing its diversity. We’ve expanded our scope by implicit 100% successful the past twelvemonth to conscionable this increasing demand, and it’s wide our customers are rediscovering their emotion for this timeless grape.”

“At Majestic the emotion of chardonnay has ne'er gone away,” says purchaser Jonathan Tiffany, “I deliberation a batch of the aversion was owed to richly oaked wines, but that inclination seems to person reversed with wines specified arsenic Bread and Butter which has been successful Majestic for astir 8 years seeing accrued income each year.”

We tin corroborate that chardonnay is genuinely backmost successful favour. But until we spot the film, we can’t accidental whether Bridget’s inactive utilizing it to aforesaid soothe. I foretell she’s mixing it up with a fewer cocktails and kombuchas, and has reduced the size of her ample solid to a medium.