There are certainly exceptions, some notable, but it is more than fair to say in a rather sweeping generalization that California chardonnays are devoted to a rich, fat, buttery style, with a heavy-handed use of oak barrel aging, resulting in a wine best enjoyed on its own or at cocktail parties, usually deep golden in color.

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After 18 months of aging in the hybrid barrels the wine is left for 20 months in the bottle before release.

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Moreover, buying fine wine when it is first released and requires a few years aging is almost always cheaper.

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And unlike Chardonnay, fine Pinot Gris is not "a winemaker's wine" that can make up with cellar cosmetics (like aging in charred oak barrels and secondary fermentations) what it lacks coming in from the vineyard.

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He also advocates other technologies still controversial: adding enzymes (to enhance wine's color) or adding microbubbles of oxygen (to speed its aging).

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