Apex Cellars in Yakima, Washington, is another of the Precept brands; you can find the marketing materials at Precept's site. Apex was created in 1988 by Harry Alhadeff, a much respected Northwest wine authority and disctibutor, and Brian Carter, a much respected winemaker. Apex produces three basic tiers of wine; Apex, Apex II, and Bridgman. Carter was joined as winemaker by Victor Palenci in 2007.

This was a lovely straw yellow color. There's a hint of green apple and something slightly sweeter in the aroma. The taste, though, is green apple, with hint of caramel and slightly sweet pineapple. This is recognizably Chardonnay, with a clear sharp edge to it. There's a hint of tannic to it, but not so much as with the California Chardonnays I've had. This was more complex than I'd expected, with a buttery finish to a citrus acidic start. The ABV is 13.7%; we paid $5.99 at the Bargain Grocery Outlet (the standard retail is around $15.00), and yes, we'll be watching for more. Having said that, I'm becoming increasingly puzzled by Chardonnay; there's so very much range in terms of flavor and scent that I very much want to try the same wine from different years. I think, however, that even restricting myself to Washington Chardonnays would give me a huge number of wines to try.