The Long-Suffering Husband spotted this unusual bottle on sale at half price ($15.00), so we decided to try it. It is a Monterey wine, Mer Soleil Silver Unoaked Chardonnay, 2011.

Sammy investigated but was not impressed, and neither was I. The grey (not silver) bottle is ceramic, glazed on the inside, and intended to evoke the ceramic wine vats they use at Mer Soleil. It’s kind of cool, like an old bottle from a Spanish shipwreck. Unfortunately the wine is less interesting than the container. It’s a perfectly serviceable table wine that tastes of Chardonnay… and nothing else. In fact, it would have benefited from a touch of oak! I definitely would not pay $30 for this. Or even $15.

• Weekend Wine Notes: 16 California Chardonnays, 2010 and 2011 (Gack!) (biggerthanyourhead.net)
• 50 Shades of Grey Wine Exists (nyupopculture.wordpress.com)