Why does chardonnay wine seem to be fighting an uphill battle? What’s the issue? Some say chardonnay is just misunderstood. Maybe it’s because you either love chardonnay wine or leave it.

Thanks to Kendall-Jackson, Robert Mondavi, and Ernest & Julio Gallo wineries, chardonnay is the wine to beat in California and gaining momentum.

In fact, Chardonnay is the most popular grape variety in the U.S. and winemakers are encouraging production and moving toward producing more crisp and fruity flavors.

Ifpress.com recently posted that Karl Wente, of Wente Vineyards, says, “Chardonnay isn’t just the No.1 wine grape in California, it’s the No. 1 white grape in the world.” Wente is known for its chardonnay and is credited for importing the first Chardonnay vines from France to California in 1912.”

More proof that the popularity of chardonnay wine is on the rise is that Chardonnay is asked for most often when distributors are outpouring at events. People love chardonnay, but the tastes are split between unoaked and oaked, which is the difference between chardonnay aged in stainless-steel verses oak barrels. Oaked, of course, produces the traditional buttery, honey flavors in chardonnays.

The following oak-barrel-aged chardonnays come from the Napa Valley, North Carolina, and Chile, and were recently rated by pbpulse.com.

• 2009 Antica Chardonnay, Napa Valley has a straw yellow color with aromas of pear and apple.

• Biltmore Sur Lies Chardonnay, Biltmore, N.C. is extremely light in color with a rich citrus taste with sweet undertones.

• 2010 Haras de Pirque Chardonnay, Maipo Valley, Chile is yellow in color and smells of honeysuckle and a little melon but still crisp.

Lynn Kalber, of The Palm Beach Post, taste-tested all three of these oaked chardonnays and says that number two is the best, “Our final thoughts: The Biltmore was by far the tastiest of these three wines. It was best by itself.”

Cheers!

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