Bread & Butter Sliced Chardonnay

Gregory Ahn launched Bread & Butter in 2013 on a single contrarian thesis: the US market had over-rotated toward lean, unoaked Chardonnay, leaving the full-MLF, barrel-aged California archetype underserved at the accessible price tier. The brand name is a literal winemaking manifesto — oak equals bread; malolactic fermentation equals butter — and every production decision flows from that declaration.

Fruit is sourced from two climatically opposed California zones: cool Pacific-influenced Sonoma/Carneros blocks, where marine fog suppresses sugar accumulation and preserves acidity, and Monterey/Arroyo Seco sites in the Santa Lucia Highlands rain shadow, where diurnal swings of up to 50°F concentrate stone-fruit character. No single-site soil data is disclosed, but the coastal-to-inland blend is the structural engine of the wine.

The two lots are aged separately before blending: Sonoma fruit spends approximately 14 months in 1-year-old American oak, building vanilla and coconut without overwhelming the fruit; Monterey fruit spends approximately 8 months in new French oak, adding finer-grained spice and creamier texture. 100% malolactic fermentation converts malic to lactic acid across the entire blend, eliminating green-apple sharpness in favour of crème brûlée weight. ABV is 13.5%.

The special feature is structural: this is one of the only sub-฿1500 California Chardonnays built on a dual-oak-regime blending strategy — American and French barrels aged separately then assembled — rather than a single uniform barrel program. The wine is blended for house-style consistency across vintages rather than marketed as a vintage-specific expression, making it a reliable, year-round pour at its price point.