Unhappy racecar drivers have known it for decades: pigeonhole Mario Andretti at your peril. He’s the only driver ever to win the Indy 500, the Daytona 500, and the Formula One World Championship. He’s won on ovals, on road courses, on dragstrips. He’s won on dirt and on pavement. He’s won races in five different decades and on five different continents. If it’s got a motor and four wheels, Mario’s won championships driving it.

So when he decided to pursue his love for wine by founding Andretti Winery, do you think he eased off the throttle? Not a bit. Even if winemaking isn’t a competitive sport, Mario Andretti didn’t get where he is by settling for mediocre. And as an Italian-American kid whose work took him to exotic locales all over the world, he knows a thing or two about what good wine is.

His first smart move was adding winemaker Bob Pepi to the Andretti Winery pit crew. Bob had made a name for himself by pioneering the Sangiovese grape at his family’s Robert Pepi Winery, and for developing the two-hearted canopy trellising system that everybody who grows Sauvignon Blanc uses nowadays. He’s the kind of guy you’d trust to select the best grapes from Napa, Sonoma, and the Central Coast for your Chardonnay – so that’s exactly what Andretti Winery did.

The result is the Andretti Winery 2005 Selections Chardonnay. The Andretti California Selections series is based on the premise that enjoying fine wine with every meal (OK, probably not breakfast) is a crucial part of a rich, pleasurable life. Makes sense to us, especially after we sniffed its bright green apple, citrus and spice aromas, with a twist of vanilla. That slightly buttery mouth and clean, crisp finish sent us scurrying to the fridge to see if we still had any roasted chicken or risotto.

But one thing puzzled us: why is this Indy-caliber wine available at NASCAR prices? Turns out the 2006 Chard is revving its engine at the starting line, and Andretti Winery needs to clear the ‘05 off the track. So you can buy enough to load up the station wagon for the holidays, please the wine snobs and the race fans alike, and still have some left over to spray in the winner’s circle.

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