Basic wines made by quality-driven producers deliver pleasure and value, such as the 2009 Vincent JJ Bourgogne Blanc and the Vincent Cremant de Bourgogne

The Vincent family has owned the acclaimed Chateau Fuisse for five generations. Located in Burgundy’s Macon region, where chardonnay is the principal white grape, Chateau Fuisse produces single-vineyard Pouilly-Fuisses, Saint-Veran and Macon-Villages wines.

In 1967, Jean-Jacques Vincent assumed controlled of Chateau Fuisse. Over the course of four decades, he refined the winemaking, built the chateau’s reputation and developed the Vincent brand of wines.

The Vincent label is the family’s negociant wines, meaning the wines are made from purchased grapes of various vineyards in the Macon region. Bourgogne Blanc is the basic regional wine. When made by large companies, it is usually vacuous, but in the right hands, Bourgogne Blanc can be an act of craftsmanship. The 2009 Vincent JJ Bourgogne Blanc is simply artistry in a bottle.

Antoine Vincent is the son of Jean-Jacques Vincent and has been the winemaker since 2003. After his father retired, Antoine Vincent honored him with the creation of the JJ Bourgogne Blanc label in 2005.

The 2009 Vincent JJ Bourgogne Blanc is made from 100 percent chardonnay. The family’s expertise with chardonnay is displayed in the wine-making decision to place 70 percent in stainless steel tanks and 30 percent in used oak barrels.

The tanks preserve the floral and white fruit aromas and flavors along with the natural mild acidity of chardonnay, while the oak provides texture and body. This intelligent winemaking makes the 2009 Vincent JJ Bourgogne Blanc an ideal wine for summer entertaining.

Offer a glass to arriving guests or place it beside a chilled seafood salad, or lobster sliced and tossed with diced mango, avocado and garden-picked basil vinaigrette.

Cremant is the French wine term for sparkling wines made outside the Champagne region. Like the Vincent Bourgogne Blanc, the non-vintage Vincent Cremant de Bourgogne is made from 100 percent chardonnay from various Macon vineyards. It’s made in the Champagne method, meaning the second fermentation that creates the bubbles takes place in the bottle.

The non-vintage Vincent Cremant de Bourgogne is filled with ripe fruit aromas and flavors and finishes drier than other cremants. It is a very nice sparkling wine to serve with a raspberry or strawberry tart, or just enjoy at the end of dinner with conversation.

The 2009 Vincent JJ Bourgogne Blanc and non-vintage Cremant de Bourgogne retail for approximately $17 and $20, respectively.