Is Bread & Butter Wine Good? An Honest Review
Bread & Butter is one of the fastest-growing wine brands in the United States. You have almost certainly seen it at the grocery store, Total Wine, or BevMo. It is easy to find, consistently priced around $14, and heavily marketed as an approachable, uncomplicated wine. But is it actually good?
We tasted three of their most popular wines on Episode 143 of The Wine Pair Podcast: the Chardonnay, the Sauvignon Blanc, and the Cabernet Sauvignon. We gave them honest ratings, as we always do with all the wines we taste and review. The short answer: you can do better for $14. The slightly longer answer is below.
Key Questions We Answer
Is Bread & Butter wine good?
Is Bread & Butter wine worth the price?
What does Bread & Butter Chardonnay taste like?
What does Bread & Butter Cabernet Sauvignon taste like?
How does Bread & Butter compare to other wines at the same price?
What Is Bread & Butter Wine?
Bread & Butter is a California wine brand owned by WX Brands, founded in 2013. They produce over 1.5 million cases per year, sourcing grapes from across California: North Coast, Central Coast, and what their own materials vaguely describe as "select interior sites." The wines are aged with American and French oak integration, a process that likely involves oak chips or staves rather than barrels, which is cheaper and easier to control at scale.
Their marketing leans hard into the idea that wine should be uncomplicated. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but it does tell you something about the target audience. These wines are built for consistency, not complexity.
All three wines we reviewed are $13.99 and widely available.
2022 Bread & Butter Chardonnay Review
Price: $13.99 | Alcohol: 13.5% | Region: California
This is an oaked Chardonnay built around malolactic fermentation, which converts tart acids into softer, creamier ones. If you like butter, vanilla, and caramel in your Chardonnay, this wine is built for you. If you do not, it is not.
Tasting notes:
Nose: Creamy, vanilla, caramel, butter, kettle corn, apple, a little pineapple, saline
Palate: Butter, caramel, creme caramel, vanilla, buttered popcorn, lemony tartness, chemical aftertaste, finishes stale
Pairings: Grilled cheese, quesadilla, white pizza, mac and cheese. Anything rich enough to stand up to the butter.
Our ratings:
Joe: 2/10
Carmela: 4/10
The honest verdict: there are far better Chardonnays at this price. The aftertaste is what kills it: something chemical and stale that lingers longer than it should.
2023 Bread & Butter Sauvignon Blanc Review
Price: $13.99 | Alcohol: 13% | Region: California North Coast
This was the best of the three, which is a low bar given what else we were drinking. Fermented in stainless steel, zesty, reasonably refreshing. It has some issues, notably a cat pee note that Sauvignon Blanc fans will recognize, but it is drinkable in a way the Chardonnay is not.
Tasting notes:
Nose: Pineapple, peach, cat pee, apple, orchard fruit, a little soapy and perfumy
Palate: Lemony, zesty, zippy, a bit artificial especially on the finish, some bitterness at the end, does not finish clean
Pairings: Fish, charcuterie, fried foods, spicy foods, grilled chicken, grilled vegetables.
Our ratings:
Joe: 5/10
Carmela: 5/10
A 5 on our scale means we would drink it if it were in front of us but we would not buy it. Both of us finished our glasses with the Sauvignon Blanc, which says something.
2022 Bread & Butter Cabernet Sauvignon Review
Price: $13.99 | Alcohol: 13.5% | Region: California
Cabernet Sauvignon is Bread & Butter's most well-known wine and probably the one most people reach for. It looked pretty in the glass, a clear translucent ruby, but beyond that, there is not much there there. A typical, mass-produced California Cab.
Tasting notes:
Nose: Smoky, oak, cedar, plum, currant, cherry, salty black licorice, something reminiscent of church wine
Palate: Perfumy, thin, not juicy, tart cherry, not much tannin, not complex, campfire smoke on the finish, grape jelly, tastes like a wine someone left open overnight
Pairings: Cheeseburger, pizza, something that will mask it. Not a wine for a good steak.
Our ratings:
Joe: 5/10
Carmela: 3/10
Carmela's 3 makes the average rating a 4, meaning it is squarely in pour-it-down-the-sink territory on our scale. We think you can find a much better Cabernet at this price.
So Is Bread & Butter Wine Worth Buying?
Probably not, but it depends on what you are looking for.
If you want a completely consistent, no-surprises wine that you can grab anywhere, Bread & Butter delivers on that promise. These wines taste exactly like what they are: well-engineered, mass-produced, and designed for maximum approachability. There is nothing offensive about them in concept, but the execution left us with stale, artificial finishes that are hard to recommend when there are better options at the same price.
The Sauvignon Blanc is the one we would reach for again in a pinch. The Chardonnay is the one we would avoid.
If you want to find wines that actually excite you at $14, we have covered dozens of them on the podcast. Start with Episode 143 and let us know if you agree.
Listen to the Full Tasting
Hear the full episode — including why Joe gave the Chardonnay a 2 out of 10 and why both of us ended up finishing the Sauvignon Blanc — on Episode 143 of The Wine Pair Podcast.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Is Bread & Butter wine good?
A. Not particularly. All three wines we tasted came across as stale and artificial compared to other options at the same price. They are consistent and easy to find, but consistency is not the same as quality. The Sauvignon Blanc was the best of the three; the Chardonnay was the worst.
Q. Is Bread & Butter wine worth the price?
A. At $14 you can do better. There are wines in the same price range with more character, cleaner finishes, and better QPR. Bread & Butter wins on availability and brand recognition, not on what is in the glass.
Q. What does Bread & Butter Chardonnay taste like?
A. Butter, vanilla, caramel, and kettle corn, with a chemical aftertaste that lingers. It is heavily oaked and uses malolactic fermentation, which strips out any crispness and replaces it with a soft, creamy texture. If you like big buttery California Chardonnay, this is built for you. Joe gave it a 2 out of 10.
Q. What does Bread & Butter Cabernet Sauvignon taste like?
A. Thin and perfumy, with plum, cherry, and a campfire smoke finish. It does not have the body or tannin structure you want from a Cabernet. It tastes like a wine that has been open too long. Pair it with pizza, not a steak.
Q. What is the best Bread & Butter wine?
A. The Sauvignon Blanc is the most drinkable of the three. It is zesty, with citrus and pineapple notes, though it finishes a bit artificial. Both Joe and Carmela rated it 5 out of 10, which on our scale means drinkable but not worth buying.