Is Bread and Butter Chardonnay buttery?
Yes, Bread & Butter Chardonnay is properly buttery and creamy, just like the name promises, and it's one of the cheapest ways to get that style.
Bread & Butter Chardonnay · Chardonnay · California · most grocery stores and Target
- Alcohol
- About 13.5%
- Sweetness
- Dry, but tastes rich and soft
- Grapes
- Chardonnay
- Made by
- Bread & Butter Wines, part of WX Brands (majority owned by the Bemberg family)
- From
- California
- Price
- About $13 to $17
- Calories
- About 120 to 125 in a 5 oz glass, like most Chardonnays
What it tastes like
Butter, vanilla and toasted bread wrapped around ripe apple and a bit of tropical fruit. It's soft and round with very little tang.
- Bodylight → big
- Sweetnessdry → sweet
- Zingsoft → zippy
Is it worth $15?
If buttery is what you're after, yes. It does a lot of what Rombauer does for well under half the price.
Who it’s for
Butter lovers, full stop. If you like your whites crisp and citrusy, this will feel heavy.
How to serve it
Chilled, but not ice-cold. Ten minutes out of the fridge brings the creamy side back.
The backstory
Bread & Butter launched in Napa in 2013 and was bought in 2017 by WX Brands, which is now mostly owned by Argentina's Bemberg family. It has grown like crazy, past 1.5 million cases a year in the US. The butter is not a gimmick: the wine goes through malolactic fermentation (a second fermentation that turns tart acids soft and makes a natural buttery flavor), then gets time in oak for the toast and vanilla.
How it compares
- Bread & Butter Chardonnay vs Rombauer
Rombauer is the original buttery icon and richer still, at more than twice the price; Bread & Butter gets you most of the way for a lot less.
- Bread & Butter Chardonnay vs KJ Chardonnay
KJ is fruitier and a touch sweeter, with less butter; pick Bread & Butter if creamy-toasty is the whole point for you.
- Bread & Butter Chardonnay vs Josh Chardonnay
Josh is lighter and only lightly oaked; it is the swap if Bread & Butter feels too heavy.
What to eat with it
Questions people ask
- Is Bread and Butter wine good?
- Yes, if you like rich, buttery whites. It does exactly what the name says, it's consistent, and it costs a lot less than the fancy buttery Chardonnays.
- Who owns Bread and Butter wine?
- WX Brands, a California wine company that bought Bread & Butter in 2017. Since 2021 WX has been majority owned by the Bemberg family of Argentina, who also own the big Argentine winery Trapiche.
- Why does Bread & Butter Chardonnay taste like butter?
- Malolactic fermentation. Friendly bacteria turn the sharp, green-apple acid in the wine into a softer one, and a natural byproduct called diacetyl tastes like butter. Oak barrels add the toasted bread and vanilla part.
- Is Bread and Butter wine vegan?
- Not officially. The winery doesn't label it vegan and says it may use fining agents like gelatin or milk proteins in some years, so strict vegans should pass.
- Is Bread & Butter Chardonnay sweet?
- It's dry, but it doesn't taste sharp. All that butter, vanilla and ripe fruit makes it feel soft and a little sweet-ish to a lot of people.
If you like this, try
- RombauerChardonnay · about $40Drink this one
- KJ ChardonnayChardonnay · about $15Good buy
- Josh ChardonnayChardonnay · about $14Good buy
Where Moxie recommends it
Last checked 2026-10-04. Moxie Vino isn’t affiliated with Bread & Butter; this is our honest take. Bottle photo: Bread & Butter Wines.