White Night - A Night in California Creamy and buttered in the nose, one perceives a certain roundness. On the palate we note the presence of tropical fruits comem papaya and mango, but which are very well balanced with a taste of honey and vanilla. A lively and easy wine.

Three well priced and readily available wines that made the Wine Spectator’s top 100 wines of the year are the 2015 Kendall-Jackson Vintners Reserve Chardonnay…

The best holiday wines under $20: 2017/2018 edition These are 13 of the most affordable, crowd-pleasing bottles of vino you can bring to a festive feast. There's a reason this special bottle from Kendall-Jackson has been the No.1-selling chardonnay in America for the last 25 years. Hand-crafted in small vineyard lots in Sonoma County, CA, this quintessential chardonnay has notes of pineapple, mango, and citrus, a velvety hint of toasted oak and butter, and a luxurious mouthfeel that'll keep you refilling glass after glass. A sure-fire winner at any holiday party or dinner, serve this bottle with seafood or a creamy pasta.

Possibly the most famous and probably the most popular California Chardonnay, this rich wine is sourced from Kendall-Jackson's own vineyards around the state, including Santa Barbara and Mendocino.

Well-heeled wine lovers courted with luxury chardonnay Vintner’s Reserve has an admirable track record as one of America’s best selling chardonnays. The winery produces more than two millions cases each vintage, with fruit sourced exclusively from the winery’s own vineyards spanning from Monterey, Santa Barbara, Mendocino and Sonoma counties. The result is a rich, refreshing style that’s appealingly ripe and round that makes this an enjoyable Chardonnay.

I last reviewed the 2014 vintage of this wine and enjoyed it. This one is slightly golden in color with a nice nose of pear and vanilla. On the mid palate the wine matches the nose with the usual suspects, pear and some apple. On the medium length finish the wine displays some nice subtle vanilla notes along with some acidity. This is a super food friendly wine, we paired it with pan seared scallops and it went beautifully. This is absoloutely not an over oaked chard. The fruit is still present and the star of the show. I am thrilled to see this wine is continuing to be consistent year over year. Not all are, which is why re-review a wine when a new vintage comes out. Sometimes, sadly, a wine that has been a fav or a goto becomes a yuk. Not this one!!!!! I would give it an 88+. The LCBO call it full bodied and rich and I whole heartedly agree! This is a typical chard in that if you serve it too cold you will miss a lot of the complexity. Be sure and take it out of the fridge an hour or so before the meal, or watch it evolve in the glass as it warms ….

Keep festive dinner wine choices simple… A masterful blend of California Chardonnay – 47 per cent from Monterey, 30 per cent from Santa Barbara, 22 per cent Mendocino with 1 per cent from Sonoma – Kendall-Jackson 2015 Vintner’s Reserve Chardonnay (296566) $24.79 was judged #28 on Wine Spectator’s list of Top 100 wines of 2017. It overwhelms the senses with mango and pineapple aromas and flavours over a base of crisp citrus, honeyed apples and pears with persistent buttery oak notes.

Chardonnay Masters 2017: Gold

The Chardonnay Curve, a guide to a former California favorite that’s making a flavorful comeback Pineapple, mango and papaya with a creamy, rich palate. Notes of cinnamon, lime, and crème brûlèe on the finish.

Although this chardonnay presents abundant ripe tropical fruit notes especially pineapple, it does so in a elegant presentation that won’t overpower food. Vanilla and spice notes complement the fruit and make this a very enticing wine.

K-J certainly knows a thing or two about chardonnay, an expertise that serves it well with the remarkably consistent Avant line of K-J wines. I love the balance in this one.

In 2011, the same year that Jess Jackson passed away, the winery introduced Avant Chardonnay - a mostly steel aged alternative to the popular oak-aged Vintner's Reserve. The 2014 is delicious, with a fresh, peachy tang.

A fruit-forward chardonnay with notes of apple and lemon. Bright acidity. Refreshing.

Say what you like about Kendall-Jackson’s winemaking choices, you can’t fault their commercial acumen. A few years ago, sensing a growing trend among drinkers of California Chardonnay to move away from creamy oak-bombs towards more linear versions, they came up with Avant Chardonnay. The 2014 vintage, $17, is simply designated “California” which I take to mean it’s a blend of fruit from K-J’s multiple vineyard properties. The label proclaims “FRESH/CRISP/CLEAN”, and for once a label description is correct. Wow! Pretty unusual stuff. I wade through endless press releases, PR fluff telling me that this or that $14 wine from Lodi really, really is as packed full of the most extraordinary adjectives as the next vintage of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti. So, when a wine claims to be fresh, crisp and clean, and actually is, I am thrilled, so unexpected and rare is this treat in a California Chardonnay.

This chestnut — it was the “it” wine 30 years ago and still is — maintains its finely hewn style and quality: integrated oak, a sturdy spine of acidity and rich fruit flavors that range from green apple and pineapple to papaya and mango. It has roaring aromas of green apple, pineapple, citrus and white stone fruit that echo on the palate with a kiss of toasty oak. Let it sit in the glass. Flavors relax and come together, and you pick up more of the oak infusion. And that snappy acidity is the glue that holds this package together. After all these years, it’s still a classy wine with quality that is unfaltering.

The Vintner’s Reserve has bright acidity and tropical notes of mango and pineapple. It also has toasty oak and a hint of butter. The chardonnay has broad appeal because it’s a slightly sweeter version of the varietal.

The Vintner’s Reserve has bright acidity and tropical notes of mango and pineapple. It also has toasty oak and a hint of butter. The chardonnay is a steal for the price, and it has broad appeal because it’s a slightly sweeter version of the varietal.

Our Wine of the Week, Kendall-Jackson 2014 Vintner’s Reserve California Chardonnay, is a chardonnay lover’s wine, with all the flavors and textures you expect the varietal to show in California. Tropical fruit, especially mango, papaya, white pineapple and a fillip of durian, blossom enticingly on first sip. As these bold flavors settle down a bit, Bartlett pear, pomelo and Golden Delicious apple take their place and, as the long finish resonates, suggestions of melted butter, vanilla, nutmeg and toast confirm that, yes indeed, you are sipping a chardonnay, and it is definitely made from California fruit. This just might be one of the most classic examples of this style.

Straightforward citrus flavors are rich yet focused in this tasty KJ white.

The perfect party gifts for any occasion this holiday season - To meet your girlfriend's parents A foolproof way to get her family on your good side: Bring a bottle of vino to the table. Just make sure your pick isn't too cheap (you are dating their child, after all) or too pricey (you definitely don't want to make them uncomfortable). If you're looking for a white that's sure to please any palate, opt for Kendall-Jackson's 2014 Camelot Highlands Chardonnay... When it comes to red wines, we love ...or Freemark Abbey's 2014 Cabernet Sauvignon. And if you're still coming up blank (or if they're nondrinkers), don't be afraid to simply ask your girlfriend what they like—she's the expert when it comes to your (potential) future in-laws.

An amazing toasted oak, spicy cinnamon and nutmeg nose, with citrus and tropical fruit flavors and an elegant oak frame. The fruit expression in the mouth is lush with a long satisfying finish.

Reasonably priced, this full-bodied chardonnay has a rich texture with ripe peach and mango flavors and a touch of sweet vanillin oak.