Though tannin is a key element to most red wines, it is undesirable in whites, which is why white grapes are immediately pressed. Most red wines from Northern California are barrel aged to some extent. Wine barrels come in only a few shapes and sizes and are made exclusively from oak. Some barrels, however, are made with American oak and others with French. Most wineries use a combination of both.
Differences are subtle, but conspicuous.
Chardonnay, being a white wine, and thus lighter in flavor, is where you will find the oak flavor most detectable. Think of trees the next time you sip a Chardonnay that has been aged in oak and see what it gets you. Once Beelzebub Cellars is ready to release its wine, it is put into bottles, then into cases and finally warehoused where it will await shipment to distributors. The distributors purchase the wine from Beelzebub Cellars, then sell it to the stores and restaurants where you can at last get your hands on it. It is in this last segment of the wine's trip to market that its price escalates.