Ah, the misunderstood chardonnay.

This varietal has suffered the same kind of setback that merlot did after the film Sideways. Both bad reps are decidedly undeserved.

Thankfully, merlot is making a comeback. Let's see if we can give the same appreciation to a good, oaked chardonnay.

Chardonnay, after all, is still one of the most widely planted types of grape in the wine world. It's grown around the globe. It's a fairly easy vine to grow - not demanding, and the results are extremely dependent on terroir (the earth, the climate, the surroundings) and the handling of the grapes.

It's used in a variety of ways, from sweet icewines to sparkling wines and is related to the pinot noir grape.

The Swirl Girls are asked most often for chardonnay when we're out pouring at local events. And we hear you: You love chardonnay. We like it, too, although our tastes are split into the unoaked and oaked preference worlds. That refers to chardonnay being aged in either stainless-steel or oak barrels. I love the traditional, oaked, buttery, honey chardonnays - with those adjectives, why wouldn't I?

moreBut the traditional chardonnay is apparently not de rigueur at wine parties nowadays. The taste of unoaked chard appeals to those looking for more fruit-forward wines, and there are some terrific unoaked chards out there, too.

So when we received three oaked chards from different areas - Napa, North Carolina, Chile - I grabbed them for a taste test at home. With food. Of course.

• 2009 Antica Chardonnay, Napa Valley (ABC, $34.99)

Made by the Italian Antinori winery family known for high-quality wines, this oaked wine is from the company's California winery. It had the most color of the three wines, a nice straw yellow, and smelled of light pear and apple. We tasted some peach, and the light, green apple showed up here, too.

It's a fairly crisp wine, with a longer finish. Wine Spectator gave it 87 points, which is a good rating. I've had other Antica wines, and have liked them a lot. This wine didn't live up to those others. It was pleasant, and was the most expensive bottle we tasted, but didn't knock us over.

• Biltmore Sur Lies Chardonnay, no vintage, Biltmore, N.C. (ABC, $9.99; Total Wine, $10.99)

Vineyards just below the famed Biltmore estate were planted in 1971 and have since produced some highly praised wines, ranging from sauvignon blanc to rose to sangiovese to merlot, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc and more. The winery is a huge visitor draw.

This chardonnay is called sur lies ("on its lees") because of the way it's processed, with the wine on the sediments. This was the lightest-colored wine in the glass, almost clear. But the nose was fairly rich with pineapple and definitely citrus. The taste was full and rich, and fairly complex. It was a good sipping wine, with some apple and honey, and a little sweet undertone. It's a well-rounded wine, and for the price, it's a great buy.

• 2010 Haras de Pirque Chardonnay, Maipo Valley, Chile ($9.99 online)

This Chilean winery is on a slope of the Andes mountains, and the owner also has a quality thoroughbred farm, hence the horse motif on the wine labels. In fact, the name of the wine is tribute to the country's oldest thoroughbred breeding farm, started in 1892.

This wine smelled of honeysuckle, and was a light yellow in the glass. On taste, it had a little melon and honeysuckle, and was fairly crisp. It's also a well-rounded wine, but didn't have the complexity of the Biltmore chardonnay.

All three wines went well with the salmon dish I made. Chardonnays typically pair well with fairly rich food - even pasta carbonara, or richer mushroom dishes.

Our final thoughts: The Biltmore was by far the tastiest of these three wines. It was best by itself. The Biltmore and the Haras were both very good with the salmon, and then we had another small glass of the Biltmore as dessert.