Advertising

The Seattle Times Company

NWjobs | NWautos | NWhomes | NWsource | Free Classifieds | seattletimes.com

Food & Wine


Our network sites seattletimes.com | Advanced

Originally published Wednesday, December 5, 2007 at 12:00 AM

Print

Wine Q & A

What is the role oak plays in making wine?

Q: Winemakers often talk about using American oak, French oak, new oak, neutral oak, 1-year old barrels, etc. What's the difference, and...

Q: Winemakers often talk about using American oak, French oak, new oak, neutral oak, 1-year old barrels, etc. What's the difference, and why does it matter?

A: Wines made from certain grapes — chardonnay, semillon, the Bordeaux reds and so on — gain complexity and add layers of flavor when aged in new oak barrels. However, the type of barrel and the time in barrel can vary infinitely.

Oak may be sourced from various forests in Europe and America, and once harvested, may be air-dried or kiln-dried, aged for different lengths of time and then toasted to different degrees. Winemakers love to play with the wide range of flavors available to them, which they often compare to a chef's spice rack. This is all well and good, but the final results, as always, depend upon the skill of the artist.

Neutral oak is wood that has been used for more than two or three years. After that the barrel has been drained of flavors and is simply an aerobic medium for wine fermentation and storage. Apart from barrels, there are many types of oak flavoring available to wineries that do not wish to pay the $1,000 or so that good new barrels will cost. Oak staves, chips, powders, etc., can add certain flavors (especially vanilla) to cheap wines, but nothing comes close to the complexity gained by aging fine wine in great barrels.

American oak is generally spicy, sometimes offering pickled notes, while French oak is toasty and more subtle.

Paul Gregutt answers questions weekly in the Wine section.

He can be reached by e-mail at wine@seattletimes.com.

Copyright © 2007 The Seattle Times Company

More Food & wine headlines...

Print      Share:    Digg     Newsvine

advertising

NEW - 10:07 AM
Obese people asked to eat fast food for health study

Seattle Beer News | Brouwer's Hard Liver Barleywine Festival kicks off this Saturday

Organic advocates voice concern for 'natural' food

Taste: Muffuletta sandwiches are the Big Easy's best

NEW - 7:00 PM
Wine Adviser: Some good Washington wineries got away

Advertising

Video

Marketplace

 
Most read
Most commented
Most e-mailed
 
 

Most viewed imagesMore

Advertising