I like the sandhi Santa Rita hills and Santa Barbara coi Chardonnays. Around 30 each for 750 ml
Probably not a great comparison with Ceritas or Chablis, but I agree with the ABC recommendation - their entry level Santa Barbara bottle is usually quite good and can be had for $20-$25 per bottle.
John, we are still in residency/fellowship as well. Ceritas has a tasting club option where they send u a single bottle of each release for the year. It’s a good option to try their wines and see which you would like to grab more of the following year
We love RM, Rhys and Realm SB as well for same ballpark. Agree with chablis for some other options lower in price
Ceritas is one of our favorite domestic chards rn
Can sometimes snag Ramey at that price point. Groth + Au Bon Climat.
In the 40s Big Table Farm’s is well worth it
Nice, I finish up in 4 months. I tried their Pinot and really wasn’t a fan but loved the Chardonnay. They told me about the tasting but we are moving across the country for new job so trying to limit the amount of wine I need to get across the country.
I know Oregon better than California. A few to consider in your price range, at least for my tastes. Some mentioned previously as well as in other threads.
-Walter Scott la combe vert and cuvee anne (this more like $40…but in my opinion an outstanding value). Relative to the discussion above re: Ceritas, their single vineyards are outstanding and worth having on your radar for the future.
-Goodfellow ribbon ridge and durant (also $40, but can be found in $30-35 range. really good)
-Cameron dundee hills (outstanding value) and reserve (also $35-40)
-Brick house ribbon ridge and cascadia
-Crowley willamette valley
-Eyrie estate
Couple that get somewhat broad national distribution. Not in top tier for me but worth drinking:
-St Innocent Freedom Hill (very good value. usually $20-25)
-Drouhin Arthur (more like $35-40)
Many of these you won’t find getting broad national distribution, but may want to consider having a mixed case shipped. Great way of sampling a number of things. Shipping has gotten harder depending on where you are but a few Oregon retailers I’ve used who have good selections are Vinopolis, Sec wines and Valley wine merchants.
Excellent recommendation
I would also suggest trying out Oregon. Their chards have come a long way in the past few years. In addition to the producers mmeyers suggested, I would add Adelsheim, $25 on their website but can be found for less.
If you have the budget, get a mixed case or half-case of Oregon chardonnay and organize a tasting with friends.
Yes Yes Yes! Still around $30, this is a terrific Chardonnay.
We don’t drink much domestic Chardonnay but when we do it’s typically Mount Eden. The Edna Valley is low $20’s.
If you like richer chards the Talley Edna valley isn’t bad.
That’s a great suggestion. The Mt. Eden chardonnay from Edna Valley is a winner at around $20 in that style. And then the “Domaine Eden” chardonnay bottling at around $30 from Santa Cruz is another step up.
We’re only scratching the surface here. There are a lot of good <$30 high quality chardonnay option in the anti-Rombauer style.
The Ceritas wines are excellent. If you like the style, I would add to the suggestions to look at Oregon. Some of my faves, in no particular order, and some around $20-30 and some not:
Cameron-his $20-30 wines are great, but Clos Electrique is world class and at $70 is every bit as good as Ceritas and Littorai(for when you have the salary, or your wife gives you a pass-this is the $70 Oregpn Chardonnay IMO)
Crowley-Tyson Crowley’s main source for Chardonnay fruit is Four Winds vineyard. This is one of the best sites in Oregon for a more European style of chardonnay. High elevation, cool, and an older planting. The single vineyard is consistently excellent, but don’t sleep on the WV bottling because it’s basically declassified Four Winds.
Haden Fig, Twill, and Vincent-delicious wines at delicious prices that will satisfy the need to recreate your Ceritas experience in the $20-30 range.
EIEIO-under the radar, and bery good.
The name may not be serious but the Chardonnays are.
Eyrie-old vines are a trump card. Price may be a bit higher than the OPs desires but excellent wines.
Westrey-awesome QPR for the Willamette Valley bottling. All the Chardonnays are great.
Walter Scott-super wines. These are some of the best Chardonnays in Oregon, and not $20-30, but if you aren’t buying some then you are missing out.
I would echo Marcus’s post and only add that Oregon has been making great Chardonnay for years if you knew where to look (Eyrie and Cameron have been making world class Chardonnays for 20+ years). There are more top producers now and prices have crept up, but to say that only now has Chardonnay from Oregon become worth drinking is false.
Not sure about us pricing, I’m working of Canadian equivalent of $30-$45.
Less fashionable parts of burgundy could work - Macon etc, St Romain village, etc but short vintages are edging prices up. For Roche de Bellene is usually good value in this price range.
Chablis 1er Cru is edging out of this pricerangr, especially the better producers, but we’ve had a run of several good vintages, albeit different styles. Grab what you can. And don’t ignore basic Chablis from good producers like Drouhin-Vaudon, you can save some money.
Try South Africa such as Hamilton Russell.
(And while your u are in South Africa do try their Chenin Blancs, they live in a similar space and there are some terrific examples, such as DeMorgenzern or Mullineux in this price range.
Oh, I should have mentioned Ontario but likely hard to find inUS, so it’s a bit academic, but if you are interested I can add some suggestions
Did you get the Droin & Michel 1ers from WTSO? Because I cant find anywhere fir those prices right now. I must be doing something wrong.
Droin was a local closeout. Louis Michels were on a website and was mentioned as a PSA here on WB. Those are both admittedly silly good deals, but it’s the kind of thing that pops up from time to time with Chablis. The Chalisienne 1ers are occasionally on WTSO. My point is that these deals can usually be found if one looks around rather than paying average retail pricing.
Two more good values with better availability are Leflaive Setilles and Brocard’s Domaine St. Claire, the latter of which is a lighter Chardonnay in a somewhat Chablis style, particularly in racier vintages. Each is easily found for under $20. Also Caraillon’s Bourgogne blanc and Pernot’s Bourgogne blanc, each of which is in a richer style than the Chablis I mention, are between $20 and $30.
There are many posters on these boards that should have stopped buying wine 25 years ago. They have so much they don’t know what to do with it all. 
Thanks for the tip Marcus. I will have to try to stop by Westrey next time we are in McMinnville in March. I agree on the Walter Scott. Ken makes some great chardonnay.