100% Chardonnay

Food pairings: Lobster rolls, grilled cheese, roast chicken and simply prepared seafood.

Winemaking: The Chardonnay is fermented and aged entirely in stainless steel, with no oak, to keep its citrus and orchard fruit fresh and bright.

Vineyards and terroir: The grapes come from the Vic family's vineyards around Château de Preignes le Vieux, in the pastoral hills near Vias, close to the Mediterranean coast of the Languedoc. The Chardonnay vines are more than 20 years old and grow on rocky volcanic soil; the estate also has sites with sandier clay and old riverbed topsoils. The family farms sustainably, using neither pesticides nor herbicides, and makes its wines only from fruit grown on the estate.

Family and history: Comtesse Marion is made by the Vic family, fifth-generation growers at Domaine de Preignes le Vieux in Vias. The property's roots go back to the Middle Ages, and the heart of the estate is an old château built from the black volcanic rock that underlies its vineyards. The Vic family acquired Preignes le Vieux in 1905 and turned it into a wine estate; the château has been protected as a French Monument Historique since 1995. The wines are imported to the US by Skurnik Wines.

In the pictures: Château de Preignes le Vieux, the Vic family's estate near Vias (photo: Skurnik Wines).