Some advice for a decent chardonnay from the folks at Forbes.
It’s easy to swear off chardonnay. There are countless weak versions–each one as disappointing as the next–that giving it up for good is akin to forgoing rice cakes, tofu or egg whites. The grape is one of the most heavily planted varieties in the world (400,000 acres under vine), and Americans guzzled about 60 million 9-liter cases of chardonnay in 2008. But two-thirds of wine sales are at the wallet-friendly end of the spectrum (about $10), so it’s reasonable to assume that the likes of mass-produced brands, such as Charles Shaw and Little Penguin, make up most of those 60 million cases–all brands that tend to taste alike and lack overt flavor. – From Forbes