When it comes to Australian wine, the first thing that comes to my mind is shiraz. That's the Australian name for syrah, a red grape that gained its reputation in France's Rhone region. Australia has been so successful in marketing shiraz that many U.S. wineries use that name on their labels instead of the lesser-known 'syrah."

In fact, Australian shiraz is so popular that it's easy to neglect other good wines from Down Under. I was reminded of this by a number of recent articles praising the advances that Australia has made with chardonnay, the country's most widely planted grape after shiraz.

While critics once considered Australian chardonnays to be crude and too oaky, that has changed over the years. Some critics now rank premium Australian chardonnays among the world's best wine values.

The wines have been praised for their complexity, full-flavor and ripe fruit. And following the trend in the United States, many Australian winemakers have reduced or eliminated oak aging, producing better-balanced wines.

I went to Friar Tuck Beverage, 9053 Watson Road, in search of two well-priced Australian chardonnays. I bought the 2010 Woop Woop Chardonnay for $10.99 and the 2009 Wyndham Estate Bin 222 for $9.49.

Although both wines are from the South Eastern Australia wine region and each has an alcohol level of 13 percent, the Woop Woop is unoaked, while the Wyndham Estate is mildly oaked and well-balanced. I enjoyed both; which one you'd prefer depends on your palate.

The Woop Woop, which is slang for "in the middle of nowhere in the Outback," is a light- to medium-bodied white that has been tank-fermented. This is a crisp, clean and juicy wine, dry but not bone-dry. It has some lovely stone fruit and grapefruit notes and a hint of spice, and ends with a bright, citrusy finish. Try it as a refreshing aperitif or with lighter meals such as dinner salads or fish.

The Wyndham Estate Bin 222 is a medium-bodied chardonnay that's a bit bigger than the Woop Woop, a buttery and richer wine with good acidity and a lot of flavor. This is a fragrant wine with a complex aroma of stone fruits and vanilla from the oak. Although I'm not a big fan of oak, I thought it worked well in this wine.

The Woop Woop reminded me of a California-style chardonnay. If you like the Kendall-Jackson Avant, a lightly oaked chardonnay, you might enjoy the Wyndham Estate Bin 222. Although this wine could be sipped as an aperitif, I would prefer it with food, including chicken, fish and pasta with cream sauce.