Our take
Clos Du Bois Chardonnay California White Wine
- Style
- White wine
- Size
- 750 ml
- Grape
- Chardonnay
- Region
- California
- Shelf barcode
- 0087356510124
Our take
What we make of this bottle
$10.99 is the lowest price our checks have found on this Chardonnay, and that low lands among the cheapest fifth of the white wines we cover. Clos du Bois says Frank Woods founded the winery in 1974. That founding is the one producer detail we have confirmed so far.
The grape is worth a moment, because official guides say part of what a Chardonnay tastes like comes down to winemaking choices. Those guides describe a white grape that can be made without oak and stay lighter, or go through oak fermentation and aging and can come out weightier, with toast and a rounder texture possible rather than promised. On flavor, they set stone fruit or tropical fruit in riper examples and citrus and apple at the cooler end. 40 shoppers have rated this bottle, and they put it at 4.38 out of five. On the oak question, this bottle's approach has not been confirmed in the evidence we hold.
Our checks covered ten stores, and the highest price among them was $17.99. Every figure here, prices and rating alike, was rechecked as of August 12, 2026.
Our own evidence file could not confirm this bottle's approach to oak; Clos du Bois's current product page goes further. Its tasting note describes "layers of ripe pear and citrus underscored by creamy notes of butter and toasty oak," the producer's words, naming the oaked, rounder style our grape research describes rather than the lighter, unoaked one. The producer also suggests pairing it with creamy chicken and rice or buttered popcorn.
Our call: a fair pick for the shopper who wants some history behind an inexpensive California Chardonnay; Clos du Bois dates its founding to the mid-seventies, and the bottle sits among the least expensive whites we track. Pass if score position is your compass, because the average lands below the middle of the rated wines we cover, leaving the founding date and the price to do the persuading.
The Grocery Store Wine Desk · written Aug 17, 2026 from our research file for this wine. Numbers reflect our latest checks.
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Read our take →The prices we checked
Dated store checks, not a promise about your store.
- Kroger, Atlanta suburbs, GA$13.49
- Kroger, Cincinnati, OH$12.99
- Ralphs, Long Beach, CA$14.99
- Fred Meyer, Portland, OR$17.99
- King Soopers, Colorado Springs, CO$11.99
- Smith's, Las Vegas, NV$10.99
- Kroger, Knoxville, TN$11.99
- Kroger, Richmond, VA$11.99
- Fry's, Tucson, AZ$10.99
- QFC, Tacoma, WA$13.99
The regular price can vary by store and date.
From the producer
Brand history
Clos du Bois says Frank Woods founded the winery in 1974.
Research status
What we are still checking
Our overview above draws on the dated store feed, shopper ratings, our region and grape research, and any sourced producer facts. We are still working to confirm the current release, the full producer record, and the bottle itself, and we update this page as we learn more.
Getting to know California.
California on the label is useful provenance but weak detail about place. For these wines, sourcing disclosure, blend construction and house-style consistency carry more decision value than a generic climate paragraph.
What the name means
A state-level appellation, broader than an individual American Viticultural Area. It permits a multi-region blend and does not by itself identify one climate or soil.
How grapes grow here
The state spans cool maritime zones and hot inland valleys. A California designation alone does not reveal which conditions shaped the fruit.
What lies under the vines
At state scale, sourcing and house-style construction matter more than any single soil story.
How large the region is
- Reusable question
- Which counties or AVAs supplied the blend, and did that mix change by release?
Places within the region
- Resolution limit
- County, AVA and vineyard claims begin only when the release names them.
Getting to know Chardonnay.
Chardonnay is a white grape used for still and sparkling wine. It can be made without oak for a lighter shape or fermented and aged in oak for more weight.
Category guide
What to expect in the glass
Official category guides place citrus and apple at the cooler end and stone fruit or tropical fruit in riper examples. Oak and time on the spent yeast can add toast, spice and a rounder texture, but those features are winemaking choices rather than a guarantee.
Sources: New Zealand Winegrowers; Napa Valley Vintners. Checked Aug 10, 2026. See all 116 Chardonnay wines we cover →
Where this information comes from
- Store listing
- Price, package, product identifier, and shopper rating. Checked Aug 10, 2026.
- Barcode
- The shelf barcode shown here is computed from the store product identifier. It has not been checked against a bottle.
- Method
- Every price, rating and fact here is a dated observation. How we check.