Our take
Mer Soleil Silver Unoaked Chardonnay California White Wine
- Style
- White wine
- Size
- 750 ml
- Grape
- Chardonnay
- Region
- California
- Shelf barcode
- 0710909720106
Our take
What we make of this bottle
California is the origin on record, and this Chardonnay carries the word Unoaked in its name. Official category guides say Chardonnay can be made without oak for a lighter shape or fermented and aged in oak for more weight, so naming it that way points to the first of those paths. The guides put citrus and apple toward the cooler end of Chardonnay and stone or tropical fruit in riper examples, and they treat the toast, spice and rounder texture that oak and time on the spent yeast can bring as a winemaking choice rather than a promise.
Behind the name, Mer Soleil says Chuck Wagner started the winery and his son Charlie now runs it. We do not have a shopper rating for this wine, though among the wines with shopper ratings the middle score is 4.71, and in our September 2026 checks its price came to $19.49.
Mer Soleil publishes a tasting-note sheet for the 2022 vintage of Silver, and it is specific about how the no-oak choice gets carried out: the wine ages in stainless steel and unlined concrete tanks rather than barrels, a decision the sheet says lets the wine breathe and keeps its minerality and freshness intact. Charlie Wagner, the winery's owner and winemaker, ties the choice to flavor directly in the sheet's own words: "by fermenting and aging without oak, you bring out all the natural flavors of the vineyard." The sheet's own tasting language describes light lemon zest and inviting minerality on the nose, with citrus, clementine and mango on the palate, and it credits Monterey County's cooling breezes and slower ripening for the wine's vibrant acidity. Neither the sheet nor the winery's product page states an alcohol percentage.
Our call: choose this if the unoaked style is what you are after and a documented production choice matters to you; Mer Soleil publishes a vintage tasting sheet with a specific account of the no-oak decision, from the owner-winemaker's own words to the stainless and concrete aging that carries it out. Pass if you weigh a crowd of shopper ratings before deciding; none has reached our record yet, and the sheet's tasting language is the maker's own, not an outside voice.
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 price we checked
Dated store checks, not a promise about your store.
- Kroger, Atlanta suburbs, GA$19.49
The regular price can vary by store and date.
From the producer
Brand history
Mer Soleil says Chuck Wagner started the winery and his son Charlie now leads it.
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.