Is La Crema Worth It?
🦙 Paco's verdict: Buy it
Buy it. La Crema is a real step up from the sweet, jammy crowd-pleasers — it actually tastes like cool-climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, with fruit, acid, and food-friendliness for the money. It's not a collector bottle, but at its everyday price it's an honest, reliable pour you won't apologize for.
Quick answer
Yes — La Crema is worth it, especially if you're trading up from softer, sweeter labels. The Pinot Noir is bright and earthy rather than candied, and the Chardonnay leans toward balance instead of butter-bomb. It's a grocery-premium staple that drinks above its price, and it shines most at the dinner table.
Value Check
Good value. La Crema sits in that grocery-premium tier where a lot of bottles coast on a pretty label — but this one actually delivers cool-climate character: real acidity, real food-friendliness, fruit that tastes like grapes instead of jam. It's often shelved next to Meiomi as the "step up" pick, and that's fair. Where Meiomi leans soft and sweet to please everyone, La Crema keeps more structure and freshness. If your last few bottles felt like dessert in disguise, this is the upgrade. It's not a steal and it's not a trophy — it's a solid, repeatable buy at its everyday price.
What you're really paying for
You're paying for cool-climate sourcing and a house style that prioritizes balance over crowd-pleasing sugar. La Crema pulls fruit from cooler coastal areas, and that shows up as brighter acid and more savory, earthy notes — the stuff that makes Pinot and Chardonnay good with food. You're also paying a bit for the name and the consistent, polished bottling. The label is doing some work here — but unlike a lot of grocery bottles, the liquid backs it up. What you're not paying for: single-vineyard rarity or cellar-worthy complexity. This is a buy-and-drink wine, not a buy-and-hold one.
What Paco would buy instead
La Crema is a fine pick. But if you want to shop around at a similar price, here's where Paco would look:
- Meiomi Pinot Noir (~$20-$25) — if you actually want the softer, sweeter, crowd-pleasing style. It's the easier, rounder cousin; pick it when balance matters less than smoothness.
- A Willamette Valley Oregon Pinot Noir (~$20-$30) — for more genuine earth and structure in the glass. Often the better value if you love real cool-climate Pinot and can find one on the shelf.
- An unoaked or lightly-oaked California Chardonnay (~$15-$22) — if the Chardonnay is your target and you want crisp over creamy, this scratches the same itch for less.
When it's actually worth it
It's most worth it as a dinner wine. The acidity that makes La Crema feel "serious" is exactly what makes it click with salmon, roast chicken, mushrooms, or a cheese board — the Pinot for the reds-and-poultry crowd, the Chardonnay for anything creamy or buttery on the plate. It's also a safe, no-shame bottle to bring to someone's house. It looks the part and over-delivers on taste for the price. The exception: if you genuinely prefer the soft, sweet, smooth style — no acid bite, all easy fruit — then La Crema might read as too dry or too tart for you, and Meiomi is the smarter buy.
If it were my money
If it were my money, I'd buy it — especially the Pinot Noir, and especially for a weeknight dinner. It's one of the few grocery-premium bottles where the wine earns its shelf spot instead of hiding behind the label. I'd grab it at its normal everyday price without overthinking it, and I'd reach for an Oregon Pinot only when I wanted to spend a touch more for extra depth. Bottom line: drink what you like — but if you're trading up from the sweet crowd, La Crema is an easy yes.
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Bottom line
Buy it. La Crema is an honest step up from the sweet, jammy crowd-pleasers — real cool-climate Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that taste like grapes and play beautifully with food, for a fair everyday price. It's a dinner-table workhorse, not a cellar trophy. The only time to skip it: if you actually prefer the soft, sweet, smooth style, in which case Meiomi is your bottle.
Frequently asked questions
- Is La Crema Pinot Noir good?
- Yes. It's bright, earthy, and food-friendly rather than candied — a genuine cool-climate Pinot that drinks above its grocery-premium price. It's the standout in the lineup and the one Paco reaches for first.
- Is La Crema Chardonnay good?
- Yes, if you like balance over butter. It leans fresher and more food-friendly than the big oaky, creamy California style. If you specifically want a butter-bomb Chardonnay, look elsewhere — but as an everyday white, it's a solid buy.
- La Crema vs Meiomi — which should I buy?
- Buy La Crema if you want more structure, acidity, and real cool-climate character. Buy Meiomi if you want softer, sweeter, smoother fruit that pleases a crowd. La Crema is the step up; Meiomi is the easy crowd-pleaser.
- What would Paco buy?
- Paco would buy the La Crema Pinot Noir for a weeknight dinner — it over-delivers for the money. If you want to shop around at a similar price, a Willamette Valley Oregon Pinot Noir (~$20-$30) gives even more earth and structure, and Meiomi (~$20-$25) is the pick if you prefer the softer, sweeter style.
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