The 2023 Morning Fog Chardonnay’s Place on Wine Spectator’s Anticipated Annual Top 10 List is the Latest Accolade in the Winery’s 143-Year History
January 22, 2026 (Livermore Valley, CA) — Wente Family Vineyards, America’s longest continuously operated family-owned winery, is thrilled to announce that its 2023 Morning Fog Chardonnay from California’s Central Coast was Wine Spectator’s number five pick on its highly anticipated annual “Top 10 Values” list. This list caps off the cover story of the lauded magazine’s “Smart Buys” print issue, which published this week, and reflects the value and accessibility of the high-quality wines from the iconic Livermore Valley winery.
In the feature, Wine Spectator California Chardonnay critic MaryAnn Worobiec writes, “Now in its fourth and fifth generations as winemakers, the family has been focusing on well-priced wines that overdeliver on quality. The Morning Fog bottling is a Goldilocks Chardonnay, with half the wine fermented in neutral American oak barrels and half in stainless steel tanks, striking a balance between freshness, complexity and creaminess.”
Morning Fog Chardonnay has been on a critical hot streak. The 2022 vintage landed at the number 40 spot on Wine Spectator’s Top 100 list last year. This success coincides with a series of other meaningful critical endorsements that were announced in recent months. The 2022 Baily Hill Pinot Noir (SRP $20) earned the #19 spot on Wine Enthusiast’s Top 100 Best Buy list, celebrating the year’s top-rated wines priced $20 and under. Wine Enthusiast also published a 98-point score for Wente’s 2020 nth DEGREE Cabernet Sauvignon (SRP $120) – the highest critical score since the winery’s founding in 1883. The 2022 nth DEGREE Merlot (SRP $95) received a 95-point score and landed at #46 on Wine Enthusiast’s Top 100 Cellar Selection Wines for 2025.
Concurrent with recent critical success, Wente Family Vineyards finds itself outpacing current category trends, with volumes increased by 5.8% and sales up 3.1% versus last year. Wente Family Vineyards ended the year as the 14 California Super Premium brand in the United States for its flagship Coastal Vineyard Series (which includes Morning Fog Chardonnay), up from number 15 at the beginning of 2025. Those wines were up 5.5% in unit sales, while the Super Premium category average was -2.3%. In dollar sales the portfolio was up 2.2% versus 2024, while the category average was -3.1%.
The current vintage of Wente Family Vineyards Morning Fog Chardonnay is available nationally and via WenteVineyards.com/Shop.
*Data source: Circana/IRI Geography is Total US – Multi Outlet +Conv – Food, Places of Origin CALIFORNIA, 52 Week Date is 12/212025, SUPER PREMIUM $11.00 – $14.99
About Wente Family Vineyards
Founded in 1883, Wente Family Vineyards has been celebrated for its industry wide contributions to innovation as the longest continuously operated, family-owned winery in the country, now owned and managed by the fourth and fifth generations of the Wente family, with women leading the charge from grape to glass. The winery draws from certified sustainable estate vineyards in the Livermore Valley, San Francisco Bay, and Arroyo Seco, Monterey appellations to create an outstanding array of fine wines distributed in all 50 states and over 70 countries worldwide.
In 2010, it joined the top 10% of California wineries that meet all three tiers within the Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing codes and designation for both their estate vineyards and winery. In April 2022, the winery won the Wine Institute’s California Green Medal Leader Award. This award is given to one winery each year and recognizing leadership in sustainable practices that span both its vineyards and winery as well as the estate’s socially responsible initiatives that benefit its employees and greater community.
Located just east of San Francisco in the historic Livermore Valley, Wente Family Vineyards – Wente Family Estates’ flagship estate label – is recognized as one of California’s premier wine country destinations, featuring wine tasting, food and wine experiences, outdoor wine & music events, unparalleled wedding venues and The Course at Wente Vineyards, an 18-hole championship golf course designed by Greg Norman. For more information, visit wentevineyards.com.
