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I guess I'm the only one who still likes oak-y chardonnay. Any recommendations for oak lovers?

Agreed, oaked Chardonnay wines are indeed lovely as well. As with every wine, it is all about the balance. Will certainly do a post and make some recommendations in the near future.

i am not a wine snob but know when something tastes good and I like Chardonnay. Curious though, hy does it get such a bad rap?

Chardonnay gets a bad rap because of 80s-90s California over-production of the wine in one style.

I bet there are a few good oaky Chardonnays out there - but once it got popular there were a lot of bad oaky Chardonnays produced, too...because it would sell. Not because they were good.

Merlot also kinda suffered the same misfortune.

Wine has gained a more populist appeal in the US...which is good. People (who aren't big into wine) feel more comfortable liking what they like and less about the $$$ or some immutable imprimatur of quality that only sommeliers can detect.

There's a lot of fun info about how people have different palate sensitivities that often steer people towards liking certain kinds of wines and not others. I'd like to think this type of wine populism will encoruage diversity of wine-making styles and discourage a bandwagon glut of crappy wine being made just because it is what will sell.

Cakebread Chardonnay is my favorite best-ever tops a-one yum Chardonnay ever. Love. A little pricier than the above choices, so I don't get it often, and I should probably give them a try. Tis white wine weather down here in the Deep South.

IMHO no white wine needs oak. Oak has such an intense flavour that it completely obliterates the subtlety of whites - chardonnay being the strongest of whites lead winemakers to believe it could handle it. I don't know who's idea it was! Hehe.

Even reds only need minimal amounts. I can understand shiraz having strong oak flavours but pinot noir no.

Back in the day oak notes were considered a fault in wine. And 300 or so years ago someone had the influence to say it wasn't such a bad thing after all. Since then it's been a desirable trait to most.
Looks like the tides of change are turning again and oak is losing favour. Good I reckon - but its all personal taste isn't it.

No one should feel they don't have the right to have an opinion about wine. And JenPDX is spot on in saying people should feel comfortable in just knowing what they like. That is all the knowledge you need! I don't adhere to this wine snobbery business...sure its great if you know your stuff but its completely unnecessary to look down your nose at someone who doesnt have the same degree of know-how.

I like Chardonnay OK, but have you been to any average California supermarket recently? From Ralph's to Whole Foods, the white wine aisle is 85% Chardonnay, 15% a few bottles of cheap pinot grigio or riesling. If you're an average Californian with even a slight appreciation for wine, the heavy presence of Chardonnay can wear you down. I have stomped out of stores wine-less because I refused to be railroaded into choosing between 'Chardonnay or crap'.

I'd recommend Banrock Station chardonnay (Australia), Naked Grape chardonnay (Canada), or Pelee Island (Canada) anything, all their whites are good. Any time anyone says they hate chardonnay, I hand them a glass of the Banrock Station, and they're hooked.

the buttery flavor that is mentioned in the post is actually from malolactic fermentation. it's a secondary fermentation that is almost always associated with being stored in oak barrels before being bottled. in lower quality wines, the wine maker will use oak chips. the oak must be toasted, or burnt, to an extent to get a significant and intended flavor. almost all red wines will be made with malolactic fermentation while chardonnay is one of the few white varietals made in this fashion.

if a wine is unoaked then it was probably fermented and aged in a stainless steel vat.

there are lots of reasons to make a wine taste one way or another. many times cheaper wine will have colombard, another white varietal, added to stretch out the volume. according to the law, wine can be labeled as a single varietal without actually being a single varietal. the length of time the wine is fermented and aged goes a long way to ensure for certain qualities, while not being indicative of "quality." regardless, wine is a very complex product to make that is subject to nature and all of the corresponding whims.

one of the biggest reasons that chardonnay is so very popular is that it is extremely easy grow. this doesn't mean that the price is reflective of that ease.

the price of wine has more to do with cache and marketing than it does with quality. at the retail level, there is typically a 15% to 40% markup on wine. there are several levels to the alcohol distribution model that increases the price to a silly level at times as well as increasing the scarcity. the sky is the limit if you're drinking at a restaurant, but that's more about service than anything. if you are looking to spend a few dollars less then the best way to get wine is directly from the vineyard. although, the shipping costs might be an issue.

most of the wine that's sold is franzia. it outsells all other wine 5 to 1. so, if someone tells you they don't like wine then you are probably up against that experience. most of what we're told about wine is in regard to the report of a reviewer or from some sort of an ad. if you're looking for an example then you just have to read the descriptions of the wines in the post. most of that is total bullshit; it's all marketing. preferences are usually based on an event where wine was consumed or some other similar bias.