Chardonnay traces to Burgundy, France. It is California's leading white grape, with 81,256 bearing acres in 2025, down only slightly from 89,271 in 2000 and spread across 47 counties, more than any other variety tracked in the atlas. Sonoma and Monterey each account for about 18 percent of the statewide total, with San Joaquin close behind. Its neutral base takes readily to winemaking choices: barrel fermentation and malolactic conversion push it toward a rich, buttery style, while stainless-steel handling keeps it crisp and citrus-driven.
What kind of grape this is
- Approved on a US label
- Chardonnay
- FPS selections
- 66
the names TTB permits on a bottle
distinct clones and selections held at UC Davis
Registries
What is published
Counts describe what this atlas holds for Chardonnay, not what California grows. A zero is a published answer: it means the source names the grape and reports nothing under it, or does not name it at all.
- 1,107
county-years of acreage
47 counties, 81,256 bearing acres in 2025
- 442
district-years of crush
17 of 17 crush districts, 26 crop years
- 442
district-years of Brix
tonnage-weighted at the crusher, Crush Report Table 3
- 285
producers in this atlas
producers whose curated wine list names it — a curated roster of 2,772 producers, not a census of California
- 213
regions with a maturity date
modeled, 46 years
Acreage in California
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Counties and concentration
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Where it is planted
Reported by county — never by AVA
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Share of each county's vineyard
Reported by county — never by AVA
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The counties
Reported by county — never by AVA
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Tonnage and price by district
Reported by crush district — never by county or AVA
All 17 districts on one axis →
loading crush report…
Brix at the crusher
Reported by crush district — never by county or AVA
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Modeled ripening date, year by year
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Growers in this atlas's roster
- Alexander Valley Vineyardsbottled
Winery · Chardonnay
- Alpha Omegabottled
Winery · Chardonnay Napa Valley, Hyde Vineyard Chardonnay
- Beaulieu Vineyardbottled
Winery · Napa Valley Blanc de Blancs, Ranch No. 8 Maestro Chardonnay, Reserve Carneros Chardonnay
- Bedrock Wine Co.bottled
Winery · Bien Nacido Vineyard Chardonnay
- Bel Vinobottled
Winery · Chardonnay
- Bernardo Winerybottled
Winery · Chardonnay, Vincenzo Bianco
- Black Stallion Winerybottled
Winery · Heritage Chardonnay, Limited Release Los Carneros Chardonnay, North Coast Chardonnay and 1 more
- Bonanno Vintnersbottled
Winery · Chardonnay
- Bonita Bonitabottled
Winery · Chardonnay
- Brick Barn Wine Estatebottled
Winery · Extra Brut Blanc de Blancs
- Bryant Family Vineyardbottled
Winery · Chardonnay
- Burgessbottled
Winery · Blanc de Blanc
and 273 more in the roster.
285 of this atlas’s 2772 curated producers, 83 of them with a named wine in the atlas made from it. A roster is not a census — this is who the atlas has entered, not who grows the grape in California.
Measured chemistry, from one producer's own sheets
- 100% chardonnay
14.3 %
alcohol
3.5
pH
5.1 g/L
TA
—
RS
1 wine from 1 producer, each read from that producer’s own tech sheet and linked to it. No average is shown, and none should be computed from these. Wineries that publish tech sheets are selected by their own marketing departments, so a mean across them describes publishing habits rather than a grape.