CHARDONNAY

Chardonnay is a French white grapevine variety for wine, distributed extensively in Burgundy and Champagne. 

In viticulture literature (5,7,14,17) it is known as “White Pinot” and “Pinot Chardonnay.” Observation indicates that, by its morphological-biological features and agricultural characteristics it is distinguished from the Pinot group and represents an independent species. 

In its homeland, Chardonnay is used for making especially high quality table wine and champagne. 

In addition to France, Chardonnay can be found in Germany, Austria, Hungary, while in the Soviet Union – in the northern Caucasus, Crimea, Ukraine, Moldava, and Georgia. 

Chardonnay was brought to Georgia at the end of the 19th century and at the beginning of the 20th century, together with Pinot and Aligote but it did not recognize wide distribution as it was characterized with relatively low productivity and more sensitivity to ecological conditions. 

The cultivation of Chardonnay began in 1936; a time when the development of champagne viticulture was receiving a lot of attention. Vineyards of Chardonnay were cultivated in Mtskheta, Kaspi, Gori, Akhaltsikhe, Aspindza, Kharagouli, Zestafoni, Sachkhere and Terjola districts. 

Of the mentioned districts should be noted the viticulture zone of Vachevi (Zestafoni district), where Chardonnay is very high quality and productive in giving wine material for champagne. 

The same valuable material is also provided in some micro-districts (in the villages of Futi, Tskhratskaro, Sakare, Zovreti, and Kldeeti). In the viticulture zone of Kartli, it did not meet expectations as in that location its production is characterized by the lack of tenderness, freshness, and harmony. In its prospective plan, it is supposed to be cultivated only in central and upper Imereti, mostly in southern expositions and calcium-carbonate soils. 

By its morphological and biological features, Chardonnay belongs to the western European vine group. 

As it is characterized by early ripening and high quality production, Chardonnay was used in the Sakare Experimental Station as a component of hybrids. Scientist A. Mirotava interbred it with Tsitska and, after enduring work, created a new hybrid Tsistka X Chardonnay No.48. It is thought to have been successful. According to the author, this hybrid is characterized with annual ripening, middle or higher harvesting and high quality production for champagne wine. 

BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION 

Chardonnay was described in the Soviet farm of Vachevi (Zestafoni district), a vineyard which is south-facing and which was cultivated in 1927 on the grafts of Riparia X Rupestri 3309 and, partly, Rupestri Dulo. The feeding area is 1.5 x 1.5m, the soil is podsolic, and consists of a lightly temperate amount of calcium carbonates. The vines are formed with one or two-sided cordon. For comparison, Chardonnay is used from Dighomi (the suburb of Tbilisi) 

The young shoot. The cone of growth is lightly covered with grayish web-like bumps, having a reddish-pink hue at the edges. The first and second newly broken leaves are bright green with pink shade and slightly covered with web-like down. The coating of the following leaves is less noticeable, mostly remaining around the veins. The young shoot is roundish and bare, with a little coating on its tip that is whitish-gray down with a reddish-pink hue. The developed sprout is quite thick, having a reddish coloring. The same color is characteristic for the axils which are distanced by 8 - 10cm from each other. 

The flower. The flower is hermaphroditic, with normally developed pistil and stamens. In a flower there are five, rarely, four to seven stamens, the proportion of which to the pistil equals 1.2 - 1.3. The knot is like a roundish ball, with angles. The column is short, cylindrical or cylindrical-cone shaped; the nose is quite large and slightly split. 

The leaf. Adult leaves are middle sized or smaller, slightly oval, about 13.7 - 17.5cm long and 13.5 - 17.1cm wide, mostly complete, but rarely can be also very lobed and wavy. 

The upper surface of a blade is smooth or sometimes wrinkled like a net, sometimes brilliant. 

On the underside, the surface is covered with web-like down, especially around the veins. 

The cut of a leaf’s petiole is open and has a lyre shape, with roundish or flat basis, rarely similar to an arrow. 

The upper cut is often lightly cut or quite deep; rarely is it cut deeply, approaching the major vein. The underside incision is generally not cut. 

The teeth of tip edges are triangular, longish, having a sharpen tip. The secondary teeth are triangular or saw-like. 

The proportion of a leaf’s petiole to the central major vein is 0.7 - 0.9. The petiole is bare and bright green or green. The major veins are expressed and either green or bright green. 

The bunch. The pedicel of a bunch is 2.5 - 3.8cm. The bunch is middle-sized or smaller, commonly 9 - 13cm long and 7.5 - 9.5cm wide. 

The bunch is cylindrical-cone shaped and can also be found with wings as well as thin and quite dense in structure.

The berry. The petiole of the berry, together with the pedicel is 5 - 6.5mm long. At the time of full grape-ripening it takes on a yellowish-white coloring, while on the skin it has reddish spots.

The berry is medium or small in size, approximately 13.5 - 15.8mm long and 13.4 - 15.5mm wide; round, wider in the middle, and is symmetrical with a rounded end. It is characterized by thin skin, juice and little flesh. The juice has a pleasantly tender taste.

The seed. In a berry there are one to three seeds, most commonly one. The length of a seed is 6.1 - 7mm, while the width – 3 - 3.5mm. Seeds are brown, slightly yellow on the inside veins, while the back is smooth. The tip has nearly the same color, and is about 1.5mm long.

AGRO-BIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS

The observations of the biological phases were carried out in Vachevi (Zestafoni district) and Dighomi (the suburb of Tbilisi).

Below is given the data of many years observations (see Table 1)

In Imereti, the vegetation period continues for 220 - 245 days, generally 229 days. The opening of buds begins in the first half of April, while blossom – at the end of May. The grape starts ripening from the third half of July, and ripens from the second half of August.

The vegetation period from the opening of buds to the full ripening of the grape is defined as 135 - 142 days (on average -139 days).

In the Dighomi viticulture zone, the vegetation of Chardonnay begins several days late (10 - 15 April) and consequently, the blossom period also starts late, from the first half of June; the ripening of the grape begins from the beginning of August and ripens from the end of August. A similar sequence of biological phases is characterized in Telavi.

The growth of the vine and development of the sprout. In Georgia, Chardonnay is characterized with a middle level of growth and development. In some micro-districts it can be strong grown if properly cultivated and nurtured (as it is in Vachevi). In suitable conditions, the length of sprouts can reach 1.5m. This can also take place in the viticulture zones of Mukhrani (the district of Mtskheta) and Dighomi (the suburb of Tbilisi), particularly in deep, fertile soils.

During the full ripening of the grape, the sprout also ripens to a characteristic color, aside from some particular years, when they fail to ripen (in Dighomi and Mukhrani) but by the end of the vegetation period, do achieve full ripening. Therefore, the vegetative parts of the vine are not damaged by winter frosts.

The productivity. Chardonnay belongs to the middle or lower harvesting species. In bad weather conditions it is characterized by mass flower fall and therefore by minimum productivity. The first signs of harvest appear from the second year of planting, with full harvesting from the fourth year.

The sprouts generated from the old vegetative parts of the vine are unproductive. In the case of light loading, when formed following the one-sided Georgian rule (8-10 buds loading), the productivity per vine equals 1kg, most commonly being 600 - 700g, i.e. 20 – 28 centners per hectare. 

If the vine is formed by the two-sided Georgian rule and loaded with 16 - 18 buds, the harvest will increase significantly, up to 50 – 55 centners per hectare.

Below is given the data of observations of Chardonnay’s harvesting during many years (see Table 2)

As Table 2 illustrates, Chardonnay is not rich in its number of sprouts in any district (77 - 80%), on a sprout is mostly one bunch, sometimes two, but of unequal development. The coefficient of productivity can be up to 1 - 1.2. Bunches are generally thin, weighing 98 - 118kg which can be turned into 20-50 centners productivity when calculating in hectare.

Observation indicates that higher-loading causes more weakness in vegetation and, consequently, lower production. For this, great attention should be paid to the proper cultivation, care of soils, additional nutrition of the vine, and green operations.

One characteristic feature of Chardonnay is the fall of flowers and small berrys at about 15%.

Durability against pests and fungal diseases. In Georgia, especially in the eastern districts (Kartli and Kakheti), Chardonnay is not negatively influenced by downy mildew- only in bad weather, and then more the green parts rather than the grape. The effect of powdery mildew is much stronger, for which it requires spraying with Bordeaux fluid 4-5 times and phosphorus 2-3 times. 

Similar to Aligote, Chardonnay is very vulnerable to Chlorosis (particularly noticeable in Mukhrani). Not all reasons of Chlorosis have yet been revealed or explored and thus defensive measures have not yet been designed.

Chardonnay can be strongly damaged by phylloxera, for which it requires grafting on phylloxera resistant rootstocks. In the collective vineyard of Dighomi, there was an outbreak of vine’s web-like tick which caused great damage, but this problem was overcome by certain activities. Other pests influencing Chardonnay have not been detected yet. 

Response of species to different environmental conditions. Chardonnay can be successfully cultivated as much in the southern as in the northern districts, on different expositions and soils though the productivity and quality varies. 

When cultivating in strong and black soils, the growth of the vine and harvesting increases, but the quality decreases. In relation to this, more effective are sub-clay soils and soils rich in calcium carbonates. 

In Georgia, namely in the eastern districts (Kartli, Meskheti, and Kakheti), Chardonnay displays quite good resistance to winter frosts and is more resistant than Aligote. 

Chardonnay is also strong and resistant to drought; stronger than Aligote, confirmed by the 1951 and 1953 data.

AGRO-TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS 

Chardonnay can easily adapt to short as well as long pruning. When pruning is short and loading light, the vegetation parts are strong, but the harvest low.

Observation clarifies that one-sided forming following Georgian rule (with the loading of 8-10 buds) is not convenient for Chardonnay and should be forbidden. This is due to the fact that Chardonnay represents the middle growth vines group and, as such, it requires the increase of loading up to 16-18 buds. Such loading should be divided into two or three bracts and basic buds, so that the loading per bract is not more than 6 - 7 buds. As long pruning is related to a great number of unproductive buds and undeveloped sprouts, short cutting is highly recommended for Chardonnay. Cordon and alley forms are not useful for this species in Georgia. Of green operations, might be noted the sharpening of the sprout tips; this procedure has shown positive results in relation to many Georgian grape species (Saperavi, Mtsvane, Goruli Mtsvane, Tsolokouri nad others) providing a 15 - 20% growth in the grape’s productivity; and can be successfully used for Chardonnay too. This will help the vegetation parts of Chardonnay to grow more extensively and fruitfully, and will be good for generating dense bunches and large berrys. 

The green operations must be conducted professionally and in accordance with all rules and standards in order to strengthen the vegetative parts of the vine. 

AGRO-TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS

By agricultural consideration, Chardonnay belongs to a high quality champagne wine species, and this characteristic is shown in all districts of its distribution and in Georgia also. It provides particularly valuable champagne wine when cultivated in sub-clay and calcium carbonate soils, not in deep, strong soils which are poor in lime. It provides relatively bad production in the southern viticulture districts, where the heat is a cause of a higher level of sugar and low acidity that makes the wine rough and of lower quality.

In addition to this negative characteristic (that is, the sensitivity to soil character), another undesirable feature should be noted- the low coefficient of harvesting caused by mass flower-fall and shallowness of bunches, as well as by small and undeveloped berrys. This weakness can be overcome partly by the increase of loading, by the sharpening of shoot tips, and by artificial loading.

Of positive attributes should be mentioned the significant resistance to downy mildew and frosts, and especially to drought.

Below is given the data of the mechanical-chemical analysis of the Chardonnay grape (see Table 3).

The weight of a large bunch is defined as 130- 145g, while of a small – 50 - 60g, the average – 98 - 148g.

The outcome of the juice is quite high (75.4 - 78.9%), while the remains (consisting of the seed, skin, scion) – 20 - 24%.

100 berrys weigh 131 - 138g, having 188 - 203 seeds with the weight of 3.1 - 4.1g.

Berrys with one seed make up 18%, berrys with two seeds – 57%, berrys with three seeds – 20%, and those with four seeds – 5%.

By the time of full grape- ripening there is 17.5 - 21% of sugar consistency and 8.2 - 9.2% acidity. 

Of the mentioned districts should be noted the viticulture zone of Vachevi (Zestafoni district), where the proportion of sugar and acidity is very convenient for making champagne wine – 17.8% sugar and 9.2% acidity. Nearly the same picture is depicted in Dighomi viticulture zone (17.1% sugar and 8.5 % acidity). A significantly different picture is characteristic in the Telavi viticulture district, where the grape accumulates a lot of sugar – from 18 to 22%, and lower acidity – 6.7 - 9.0%, therefore, in Kakheti districts, Chardonnay does not provide good material for champagne wine. Below is given the three years’ average of sugar-acidity proportion and the dynamic of grape ripening (see Table 4).

As Table 4 illustrates, the grape of Chardonnay approaches the time of ripening from the first half of September, then accumulates a lot of sugar and loses acidity, so making it unsuitable for champagne wine.

In Vachevi, the technical ripening of the grape starts from the end of August and the beginning of September and there, also, is found an undesirable distribution of sugar and acidity.

Consequently, the harvest of the grape should be handled in the first half of September in Dighomi, while in the Vachevi zone – between the end of August and the beginning of September.

A similar dynamic of grape ripening is also characteristic for the adjacent districts of Vachevi (in the villages of Futi, Tskhratskaro, Sakara, Sazano, Zovreti and others). In these districts, the harvest of Chardonnay starts at the same time – from the end of August and the beginning of September and comes to its end by 10 September. At times the harvest of Chardonnay and Aligote coincides, enabling their use for making high quality champagne.

Below are given the results of the chemical analysis of Chardonnay wine (see Table 5).

As Table 5 illustrates, Chardonnay provides valuable wine material in all mentioned districts and especially in the Vachevi zone. As a result of a degustation that was conducted in the champagne factory of Avchala in 1944-1946, presented samples received the following evaluation: the material is harmonious, tender, touchy, with a pure taste, pleasant acidity, alive, cheerful, bright in color, wholly useful for valuable champagne production.

After the tasting of these wine samples, it was decided and proved that Chardonnay is much softer, tender, and retaining of an original aroma, than Tsitska and Pinot and can be successfully used in the champagne industry.

GENERAL EVALUATION AND DISTRIBUTION BY DISTRICT

Chardonnay is less productive, with smaller harvesting capacity than average, manifest in nearly all districts. However, in good ecological conditions, and by the use of advanced agricultural means, it can become more productive.

The first signs appear from the second year of planting, while the full harvesting is characterized for the fourth year.

In the case of the vine loading by 8 - 10 buds, the productivity comes to 20 – 28 centners. Generally, heavy-loading weakens its vegetative strength but enlarges the productivity up to 50 – 55 centners per hectare.

Of the cutting forms, the best for Chardonnay should be considered as the two-sided cordon with 16 - 18 buds loading.

The species is very adaptive to both short and long pruning, but short-pruning is preferable (at 6 - 7 buds), as it supports the vine in normal development and growth as well as the regular yield of the grape.

The vine is characterized by middle growth and development, preventing heavy-loading.

It is characterized with mass flower shedding and small berrys that lead to the necessity of sharpening the shoot tips and artificial loading. For better and larger production, Chardonnay should be cultivated in sub-clay and calcium carbonate soils to get tender and cheerful material for the making of champagne wine.

Chardonnay is quite resistant to frosts and can be cultivated in the mountainous and northern viticulture districts. Furthermore, its grape and sprout are able to ripen early. In comparison with other species Chardonnay is more resistant to drought and is more sensitive to powdery mildew than to downy mildew.

Chardonnay is susceptible to phylloxera and requires grafting on phylloxera resistant vine rootstocks.

In Georgia, the production of Chardonnay should be used as a complement to champagne production, the material of which is able to improve and enrich the general character of champagne. 

In Eastern Georgian districts, it is not profitable (in Kakheti and Kartli) and therefore is not recommended for distribution in these districts.

Chardonnay is most effective in central Imereti and namely in the viticulture zones of Vachevi, Futi, Tskhratskaro, Sazano, Lower Sakare and Zovreti, and should be widely distributed in these districts.

Additionally, Chardonnay can be successfully cultivated in Dmanisi, Tetritskaro, Akhaltsikhe, Aspindza, Kharagouli, Sachkhere, Chokhatauri, and in the mountainous zones of Upper Adjara, where valuable material for table wine can be obtained.