If you or your guests like Chardonnay either a little or a lot, this wine should work perfectly. Seven months of barrel aging has imparted that traditional creamy toasty richness, while the fruit is a complex blend of cool-climate lemony citrus and tropical pineapple and mango. There’s sufficient weight here to handle the ensemble of a festive turkey dinner, but enough acidity and freshness to also enjoy the next sip or two on its own. I tend not to gravitate toward wines that are this commercially popular—it has been the best-selling Chardonnay in the U.S. for 10 years running—but I really love the balance of flavours, texture and freshness in this wine. Great value. And while I advocate for white wines to usually be given time to lose the cold of the fridge before serving, a fairly fresh chill will help offset an ever-so-subtle sweetness in this case.

I needed to decant this Northern California Pinot Noir to shake loose all the aromas from the glass. Once it comes to life, it’s more about the fruit than the florals—lush cherry/pomegranate/cranberry and a dusting of herbs. In the glass there’s a fleshy, medium-bodied concentration of dark red berry fruit with finely grained tannins. A solid, crowd-pleasing pinot.

Les Cadrans de Lassegue 2017 Saint Emilion Grand Cru, Bordeaux, France. 90% merlot, 10% cabernet franc. This has blackcurrant, violets and plum with a touch of raspberry, tobacco, earth and licorice. Meaty and spicy. Very good.

La Crema's 2019 Willamette Valley pinot is an expectedly polished and sleek, seamless wine from this professional organization. High quality wood is well-enmeshed into the ensemble, while sweet red cherry fruit and cola, pomegranate syrup and raspberry purée flavours lead in the classic west coast style. Length and depth are excellent. Drink or hold 2-5 years.

This ripe red wine from California is made from a blend of cabernet sauvignon with merlot, syrah, petit verdot and cabernet franc. The result is a complex wine with dark fruit and oak-derived vanilla and spice notes. It’s dry and nicely structured, which makes this stand out from many similarly priced red wines from California. Drink now to 2026.

Light greenish gold in color, this wine smells of yellow herbs and a touch of chartreuse liqueur. In the mouth, lemon and lime plus grapefruit mix with lemon curd and lemongrass. Crisp and bright with a hint of candied citrus in the finish.

Pale greenish gold in the glass, this wine smells of lemon pith, lemon peel, and lemon curd. In the mouth, lemon peel and pith have a bright saline quality with hints of grapefruit and orange rind. Excellent acidity, hints of vanilla lingering in the finish. Made from three different vineyard sites in Stellenbosch.

Pale greenish gold in the glass, this wine smells of lemon curd, a hint of pineapple, and oak. In the mouth, rich lemon curd and wet chalkboard flavors are faintly saline and are bright and juicy with excellent acidity. Silky textured with a long finish.

The Best Affordable White Wine, $15 and Under
Here are more than 60 still and sparkling whites, all steals, that are on store shelves now. These terrific bottles come from some of the world's best wineries.
2019 Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve California Chardonnay - Straightforward citrus flavors are rich yet focused in this tasty KJ white.

Intense and penetrating yet still floral and fresh aromas of lavender and boysenberry are fascinating on the inviting nose of this clonal selection. The palate is ripe with boysenberry jam, candied lilac and açaí flavors, which are show-stopping in nature and deeply delicious.

Aromas of yuzu pith, orange peel, light mint and a focused dairy element invite the nose deep into this complex bottling. The palate grips with stunning intensity, taking the wine through a citrus maze of lime, lemon and grapefruit as that underlying earth and dairy quality adds depth.

This appellation blend is even more compelling than some of this vintage’s single-block expressions. Aromas of lemon peel, apricot, chamomile, mint, yogurt and seashore make for a dynamic nose. The palate is lined with a minty shiso leaf flavor that carries through the lemon-confit core, with tart freshness that enlivens the mouth.

This brand’s familiarly juicy red-fruit aromas of candied pomegranate, red cherry and strawberry lure the nose deep into this bottling, which also offers red spice and light herb. The palate is fresh, fun and delightful, with snappy red-fruit
flavors as well as more complex notes of lemon rind and rooibos tea.

Ripe cherry aromas with underlying hints of herb and mace are fresh and fun on the nose of this appellation expression. The delicious palate offers baked strawberry compote, dark mint cream and concentrated hibiscus flavors.

The aromas intoxicate, with notes of black tea, herb, peppery spice, cedar and plum. The palate is full feeling, delivering flavor and textural richness while never losing its poise and balance. Coffee notes linger on the finish. More
please!

Greg Brewer flexes his usual Pinot Noir muscles to tackle cool-climate Syrah in this brand, and his delicate yet fruit-driven touch shows. Lighter in the glass than many Syrahs, this offers red flower, bright berry and a hint of asphalt on the nose. The palate is spicy with white-pepper and black-pepper flavors that enliven the dark pomegranate core.

Blended with 9% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 6% Petit Verdot, this wine offers firm structure and strong tannins. With more than two years in French oak, it unfurls into waves of earthy dried herb, cedar and peppercorn,
with a chalky texture of crushed rock.

This charming, light-colored and well-balanced wine offers the balance of a Pinot Noir with light tannins and good acidity as well as some of the tangy, mouthwatering qualities of Sangiovese. Enjoy this rarity (in California) for its focus, lively texture and subtle cranberry and black-tea flavors.

Rounded aromas of apricot, peach, salted butter and citrus pith emerge on the nose of this three-barrel bottling. A light sandalwood flavor shows on the sip along with lemon peel, wet earth and more savory sea-salt elements.

The aromas appeal, with notes of powdered cinnamon, red cherry, strawberry, clove and spice. A full-feeling, flavorful palate follows, redolent with dark fruit. The spice accents play well off them.

Cinnamon stick, cherry, cedar, cola, wood spice and licorice aromas lead to fuller-feeling fruit and barrel barrels. Coffee notes linger on the finish. It mixes fruit and barrel throughout.

A yellowish pink in the glass, this Pinot Noir-based rosé offers strawberry, apricot and light honey-nut aromas on the nose. The palate has a tropical, banana-like flavor, with decent textural tension.

With a spice box of woody oak, ginger and the richness of baked apricot, this wine presents as heavier than it is. There’s only moderate acidity to help balance.

15 Show-Stopping American Wines for Under $20
If you're hosting this holiday season, you'll want to keep these bottles in heavy rotation.
2018 Nielson Santa Barbara County Pinot Noir
The black-tea aromatics and spicy berry flavors of this Santa Barbara County Pinot give it a complexity and depth that make it taste like a bottle that costs substantially more than it does.

Large-scaled but sleek in profile, with boysenberry, açaí and loganberry pâte de fruit notes that are brightly defined and inlaid with a violet, anise and graphite spine, which lets the fruit just sail through. Shows serious grip, too, but it's well-buried in the fruit. Best from 2024 through 2040.