Our take
Diatom Santa Barbara County Chardonnay California White Wine
- Style
- White wine
- Size
- 750 ml
- Grape
- Chardonnay
- Region
- California
- Shelf barcode
- 0858334007529
Our take
What we make of this bottle
Diatom says its name comes from diatomaceous earth, a plankton fossil found in the soil of the Sta. Rita Hills, and that winemaker Greg Brewer built the label to concentrate on Chardonnay from there. That account is the maker's own. The origin given for this wine is Santa Barbara County, California.
We do not have a shopper rating for this bottle. The grape is easier to pin down. Oak is one winemaking choice for Chardonnay, official category guides note: made without oak it can keep a lighter shape, while fermenting and aging in oak can add weight, so a single grape name can cover more than one style.
Official category guides describe citrus and apple flavors in Chardonnay that ripened less, and stone or tropical fruit where ripening went further, and they treat any toast, spice or rounder texture as a winemaking choice rather than a promise the grape keeps. On price, the stores we checked in September 2026 had it as low as $22.99.
The high across those same September 2026 checks was $31.99.
The Grocery Store Wine Desk · written Sep 16, 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$29.99
- Kroger, Cincinnati, OH$27.99
- Fred Meyer, Portland, OR$27.99
- King Soopers, Colorado Springs, CO$22.99
- Kroger, Knoxville, TN$26.99
- Kroger, Richmond, VA$31.99
- QFC, Tacoma, WA$31.99
The regular price can vary by store and date.
From the producer
Chardonnay focus and name origin
Diatom says winemaker Greg Brewer created the label to focus on Chardonnay from the Sta. Rita Hills, and that its name comes from diatomaceous earth, a plankton fossil found in the region's soil.
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. 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.