Americans love chardonnay. More than one-fifth of all the wine sold in the U.S. is chardonnay, which is a breath-taking number. By comparison, cabernet sauvignon sales account for one out of every seven bottles. (That chardonnay and cabernet combined make up more than one-third of all U.S. wine sales is sort of sad, isn’t it?)
Which explains why so many wineries in so many parts of the world make chardonnay. Much of it is indifferent, mostly forgettable stuff sold to people who go to the store to buy a bottle of chardonnay that costs $6 or $8 or $10 or whatever.
But some of it, like the Alamos (about $11 and widely available) from Argentina, is interesting. This is quality California-style chardonnay, without the toasty oaky excesses of many similar California wines. You can actually taste the apple and pear fruit. Serve this chilled on its own, or with any white wine dinner.
