La Crema Russian River Valley Chardonnay California White Wine

Who makes this, and is the winery actually tied to the place on the label? By its own account, La Crema was founded in 1979 in the Russian River Valley, in Sonoma County, and it now belongs to Jackson Family Wines. The valley named on this bottle is the same ground where the winery says it began. The low we saw in our September 2026 checks was $29.99.

That valley is not one flat, even place. Regional guides say cool Pacific air and fog push in through a gap along the river and through nearby low points. Warm afternoons and cool nights stretch the growing season, and the fog reaches some corners more than others, which the guides say makes for distinct neighborhoods within the valley. The federal government recognized the Russian River Valley as its own growing area in 1983 and later widened it. This Chardonnay, which 8 shoppers have rated at an average of 4.63 out of five, was priced at $41.99 at the priciest store in those same September 2026 checks.

La Crema's estate for this appellation sits at Saralee Vineyard, about 60 miles north of San Francisco and roughly ten miles from the Pacific, where the producer says morning and evening fog cools the vines before afternoon temperatures can climb by as much as 40 degrees. The producer credits the valley's well-draining Goldridge soil, together with that daily swing, for the growing conditions behind its Chardonnay. Winemaker Craig McAllister presses the fruit as whole clusters and ferments and ages it in oak, the producer states, with monthly hand-stirring of the settled yeast to build richness, the same process the winery uses across its Chardonnay range. The current vintage's own tasting note describes aromas of white peach, lemon zest and green pear, with flavors of apple, lemon curd and pineapple developing into vanilla custard, the producer's words, on a finish it calls vibrant and concentrated.

Our call: a bottle for the shopper who buys Chardonnay by place, since a named Russian River Valley origin, right down to the producer's own Saralee Vineyard estate and its Goldridge soil, is a concrete thing to pay for. Pass if you want scores to justify the price first; its average lands below the middle of the rated wines we cover, and the named valley is what this bottle offers instead.

The Grocery Store Wine Desk · written Sep 16, 2026 from our research file for this wine. Numbers reflect our latest checks.