Oak in California Chardonnay Is Not Going, Going, Gone

We see many comments on blogs and in print columns that over-oaked chardonnays are passé, that the American consumer has been weaned away from the smell and taste of butterscotch, crème brûlée and burned toast in chardonnay and that, thank god, producers have come to their senses and begun making chardonnays that emphasize the purity and intensity of th…