Raise Your Glass: A Chardonnay of mass appeal Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay has stayed on the top of the U.S. sales charts every year since it was introduced in 1983, but it’s not the same white wine that hit the market 36 years ago. The 2017 Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay is crisp, dry and has subtle flavors of pineapple, mango and papaya with slight aromas of vanilla and toasted oak, the tasting notes say. The wine also has received a 90-point rating on a 100-point scale from Wine Enthusiast magazine. ...I’m not a wine snob. I write about good $10-a-bottle wine, but I’m a fan of dry wines. I stayed away from Kendall-Jackson wines for so long that I couldn’t remember exactly why. Most likely, I subconsciously dismissed the wines as being cheap and sweet... Recently, I found the Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay on sale for $10.95 and bought a bottle. It’s a remarkable wine, nothing like what I had imagined.

Elevate your wine with these sure fire cheese pairings from Toronto’s Cheese Boutique The Wine: 2017 Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay, California The Cheese: Emmi 2-Year-Old Kaltbach Cave-Aged Gruyère, Switzerland As an archetypal and widely available example of wooded Chardonnay, we poured Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve—fermented and aged in French and American oak. On its own, it suggests cooked apple laced with toasted hazelnut and crème brûlée. But with the 2-year-old gruyère, the wine becomes noticeably brighter and more tropical with notes of banana and mango emerging—without masking the oak influence.

8 Wines To Pair With Chocolate For Valentine’s Day Pair with: Chocolate-drizzled popcorn balls Buttery chardonnay is style that’s quintessentially Napa Valley; the wine’s rich toastiness and long-lasting finish come from putting the grapes through a secondary (malolactic) fermentation to soften the acidity and round out the flavors. This popular bottle of chardonnay is vibrant, complex, and, of course, buttery, making it exceptionally food-friendly. Bust out the chocolate-drizzled popcorn balls (ideally sprinkled with red and pink M&Ms) and it’s truly a match made in heaven.

National Chardonnay Day, The K-J Way Always one of the most elegant and well-balanced of the “popular” Sonoma Chardonnays, it shows lots of buttery, tropical fruit, baked apple, clove, and macadamia nut on the nose, with a rich but well-balanced layering of sweet pear, mild vanilla, and a dollop of caramel. National Chardonnay Day may have came and went, but that’s no reason to stop enjoying Chardonnay-based wines … and the Kendall-Jackson “Vintner’s Reserve” Chardonnay 2017 is a great place to start.

Pool Party Recommendation

Santa Barbara Chardonnay And Pinot Noir Are Made By The Ocean 2017 Kendall-Jackson Estate Camelot Vineyard Chardonnay Santa Maria Valley: orchard fruit, floral, salinity, dried herbs, lean and savory.

Wines made for restaurants solve dilemma One sophisticated such program was launched two years ago without fanfare by Kendall-Jackson, whose popular, widely available Vintners’ Reserve Chardonnay, with a California designation, sells for a suggested retail price $17. I have seen it on restaurant wine lists for $30 to $35. The 2016 Jackson Estate Chardonnay from Santa Maria Valley is offered to restaurants with a suggested wine-list price of $39. It is richly flavored with aromatics of tropical fruit and barrel aging. When served slightly chilled, it works nicely with food.

Perfect Pairings Delightfully tropical with mango, papaya and pineapple with citrus notes, intertwined with aromas of vanilla and honey for depth and balance. A hint of oak and butter makes for a lovely, lingering finish.

For the past 25 years, Kendall-Jackson's Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay has ranked as the top-selling Chardonnay in the United States. Even more impressive, all of that volume comes entirely from family owned hillside vineyards that stretch along the California coastline. The winemaking team points out that Monterey County fruit contributes citrus flavours, Mendocino County provides green apple notes and Sonoma County imparts ripe pear. Further south, Santa Barbara County supplies riper tropical notes. This coastal blend is fermented and aged in French and American oak barrels for added richness and complexity. Careful sur lie aging with monthly stirring to keep the wine in contact with the dead yeast cells enhances the texture and creamy flavour. The smooth texture and polished, fruity character makes this easy to appreciate. Party planners take note. Four stars.

Wine To Serve At Your Next Event My favourite wine that I got to try at the Vancouver Wine Festival was the Kendall Jackson Vintners Reserve Chardonnay. Typically, I’m not a chardonnay fan – but this chardonnay completely converted me. The Kendall Jackson Vintners Reserve Chardonnay is made up of tropical notes which give it a really bright freshness, and that’s balanced with creamy notes of vanilla and butter. At the booth, they suggested pairing this wine with grilled chicken, and corn on the cob. I also felt that this wine would pair incredibly well with popcorn! I know, unique and odd pairing suggestion but there’s something about the creamy buttery and vanilla notes in this wine that made popcorn seem like a natural choice to pair it with. So, next time you’re settling in for a movie night, grab a bottle of Kendall Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay and a bowl of popcorn and enjoy!

10 wines to cleanse your post-holiday palate If your palate needs a bit of reviving after the holidays, here are 10 wines you should consider purchasing right now. Kendall Jackson Vintners Reserve Chardonnay 2016, $14.99: This is America’s top-selling brand of Chardonnay, with 300,000 cases produced from Kendall-Jackson’s outstanding California vineyards. The quality and consistency from vintage to vintage remains outstanding, a credit to winemaster Randy Ullom who’s been directing this top-notch team since 1997. Wine Advocate magazine ranked this Chardonnay No. 27 on its 2017 Top 100 Wine List. It’s soft, creamy and expressive in sunny California’s tropical fruit flavors.

Try these selections if your post-holidays wallet is a bit light From the brand started in 1983, Kendall-Jackson has grown into one of the world's larger family-owned wine companies. The Vintner's Reserve line remains the company's backbone.

From multiple vineyards located up and down the coast of California. This has a voluptuous nose of layered and expressive apple, pear, vanilla, buttered toast and creamy barrel spices. It's lush and spicy on the palate with a range of ripe orchard fruits, mango, pineapple and just enough acidity to keep it lively on the finish.

Once again award-winning Kendall-Jackson proves its reliability with a delicious (and very affordable) Chardonnay. Aromas of warm vanilla and honeyed orchard fruit will greet you at first. Luscious pineapple, ripe papaya and juicy mango flavours then follow, dancing in your mouth. Round, supple and creamy mouth feel with subtle hints of toasted oak and buttered brioche. Lively acidity pushes through on the finish, providing a harmonious and balanced wine. Very approachable, exceptionally food-friendly and terrific value make it the perfect staple for festive holiday celebrations or any other day. Four stars.

The Jackson family has changed the Californian wine landscape with this Vintner's Reserve chardonnay. It's a full, rich style, with ripe peach and toffee apple aromas backed by a whiff of sweet vanillin oak. Expect lots of stone-fruit and melon flavours with a bright, spicy aftertaste. Grilled lobster, please.

Kendall-Jackson's Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay has ranked as the top-selling Chardonnay in the United States for years. This coastal blend is fermented and aged in French and American oak barrels for added richness and complexity. The smooth texture and polished, fruity character makes this easy to appreciate. 4 stars.

Wines to celebrate St. Patrick's Day! Colcannon are mashed potatoes reimagined, they are extremely creamy, and herb-driven with chive and earthy greens like kale or cabbage. Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay has a balanced acidity that compliments the richness of the potatoes and the sharpness of the kale, while the citrus flavours add a refreshing contrast to this buttery Irish staple.

What wine and spirits are Pennsylvanians drinking? The top 20 ranked Kendall-Jackson 2016 Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay - #19.

The Best $20 Wines For Gift Giving, According To A Winemaker Honey, butter, and tropical fruits give this Kendall-Jackson Vintner's Reserve Chardonnay 2016 a medium body and creamy texture. It’s also America’s top-selling Chardonnay.

What to Drink Next: Trust These Names in Wine It’s a safe bet that most of the millions of fans of Kendall-Jackson’s Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay don’t realize exactly how many wineries this Sonoma-based family (now headed by the late Jess Jackson’s wife, Barbara Banke) owns. The answer is 40, making wines from $13 a bottle to almost $400. The secret to their sustained quality? The family’s seemingly unerring eye for winemaking talent.
 Bargain: 2016 Kendall-Jackson Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay 
 $16 Winemaster Randy Ullom’s latest release offers all the richness and lemon cream flavors fans of this wine expect.

Drink These 25 bottles and Become a Wine Master Recommended as an alternative bottle.

40 Wines that Changed the Way We Drink Was this the wine that launched a million fern bars? Back when shoulder pads were big and hair was even bigger, Chardonnay took off. By 1994 it was America’s number one white wine. Vintner’s Reserve drove that market, and for 25 years now it’s been the best-selling Chardonnay in America. The 2016 is rich and inviting, full of pineapple fruit and vanilla spice.



Highly Recommended

This is a pretty chardonnay, a charmer. It has notes of mango, honeysuckle and peach. A kiss of vanilla on the finish. Nice length. Fopur stars.

Just in time for the holidays, we’ve selected twenty great value wines from our latest Wine Advocate issue – Issue 227. Each of these wines usually retails for US$25 or less and all of them represent “outstanding” quality, meaning they have been rated by our experts at 90 points or above. So, whether you’re in the mood for a sparkling, white, rosé, red, sweet or fortified wine, we’ve got you covered this Holiday Season at the Wine Advocate.