This full-bodied chardonnay has a refreshing unoaked character

No other green grape can match the popularity of chardonnay for grape growers and wine makers. This is in part because the vine adapts well to varying climates and its fruit can produce balanced wines at every degree of ripeness, from sour appley sparkling wines and Chablis to luscious baked appley styles from warmer climates. However, chardonnay is also beloved by wine drinkers because it can make some of the richest, creamiest white wines on earth without losing refreshment or finesse.

Compared to other white wine grapes, chardonnay is able to reach higher levels of ripeness before losing its refreshing acidity. This enriches texture as surely as adding butter can enrich the mouthfeel of a sauce. When made in an unoaked style, chardonnay has a mild taste of fresh-picked apples and pears. So, in warmer regions, vintners often give chardonnay a boost to help it match its voluptuous texture by aging or fermenting the wine in oak barrels. This process adds a toasty, vanilla-like flavor and amplifies the wine’s custard-like mouthfeel.

Nowadays, many value chardonnays split the difference, as with this reliable label from Washington. One-third of the fruit is kept clean, fresh, and snappy, to provide the refreshment of biting into a crisp McIntosh apple, while the rest is barrel-fermented to add a dessert-like glaze. The result is beautifully balanced, like adding a scoop of vanilla ice cream to your homemade apple pie.

$10.99; 13.5% alcohol

PLCB Item #8282

Sale price through May 29 — regularly $13.99

Also available at these New Jersey stores:

Canal’s Liquors in Pennsauken — $9.09, canalsliquors.com; Gloucester City Bottlestop in Gloucester City — $9.09, bottlestopnj.com; Wine Warehouse in Voorhees and Mantua — $9.98, voorhees.winewarehousenj.com and mantua.winewarehousenj.com.