Napa Cellars Chardonnay 2023 750ml

$25.00

Napa Cellars has poured wine from its geodesic dome tasting room on Highway 29 in Oakville since 1976, and today it belongs to the Trinchero family, the Italian immigrants who invented White Zinfandel and built one of America's biggest family wine companies. The 2023 Chardonnay draws fruit from Vista Montone Vineyard in the cooler southern end of the valley. It splits the difference between butter bomb and steel: smooth and creamy, with real acidity holding it up. Actual Napa Chardonnay at a weeknight price.

Orange blossom, Asian pear, peach and chamomile aromas with toffee and graham cracker underneath. Green apple, Meyer lemon and stone fruit on the palate, tangerine and vanilla through a long, creamy finish.

Crab cakes first. Then roast chicken, corn chowder, or popcorn with too much butter.

Founder Charlie Woods commissioned the dome winery on five acres along Highway 29 in 1976. Trinchero Family Estates owns the brand today. The Chardonnay comes from Vista Montone Vineyard in south Napa Valley, where cooler air preserves acidity.