Great Wine Made Simple - Andrea Immer [15]
Why would we want a drink based on grapes to taste like a wood? The answer to this question totally depends on your taste. I tell the waiters I teach to think of an oak barrel as a marinade for wine, and wine pros often refer to oak as “the winemaker’s spice rack.” Simply put, it adds aroma, flavor, body, and sometimes color, as our tasting will reveal. A lot of people like wines with this “oaky” style.
The tasting we’re going to do will compare an obviously oaky wine with one that is made from the same grape but is not oaky, so you can see for yourself. And believe me, you will know right away, because “oaky” is a very distinctive, love-it-or-hate-it characteristic in a wine. The good news is that there are some very common label terms that tip you off to an oaky wine and I will show you how to spot them.
In contrast to the tastes of sweetness and acidity we previously explored, both of which come from the grape, oakiness in wine is put there by the winemaker. In fact, oak is one of the major methods a winemaker can use to affect the style of a wine. Wineries use oak barrels for winemaking in two ways:
Oak Barrel–Fermentation The grape juice has to be put into some type of leak-proof container for fermentation. In ancient times it might have been a clay amphora. Nowadays, it is usually steel tanks or barrels. If the container used is an oak barrel, this can give an oaky character to the wine.
Oak Barrel–Aging Many wines are aged for some length of time at the winery before bottling, anywhere from a few months to several years. Using an oak barrel as the aging vessel is another winemaking option that can give an oaky style to the wine.
Historically, using barrels for wine was a matter of practicality. Before the invention of stainless steel tanks, which are widely used for fermentation and aging nowadays, oak barrels were the best technology available. Barrels predated the invention of glass, and were much more durable. Above all, they were convenient for shipping on ocean voyages. In fact, the taste-enhancing effect of barrels on wine was discovered as a lucky byproduct of ocean trade. All types of manufactured goods, from tools to foodstuffs, could be shipped in barrels. At the destination point, the barrels needed to be refilled with something—wine, for example—to provide ballast for the ships on their return trip. It wasn’t long before people noticed that the wine actually tasted better after its time in the barrel.
BARRELS AT THE SOURCE
In addition to the size, newness, and toasting of the barrels, wine professionals also talk about the source of the barrels, meaning where the oak trees themselves were grown (usually America or France). And you may see reference to American oak or French oak barrels on wine labels. Some pros say American oak barrels give a stronger or sweeter character to wine than French oak barrels, but I think the distinctions are usually too subtle for most people to notice.
Whether French or American, oakiness in wine is so distinctive that oaky wines tend to get a lot of attention from wine critics. When rating wines, critics’ scores can be influenced by an oak character because it can make a wine stand out among those being tasted. The result is that sometimes a wine whose quality isn’t necessarily better may get a higher score simply because the taster noticed it more due to the oak.
HOW OAKY IS IT? Fermenting or aging a wine in oak barrels affects several aspects of its style. They are:
Color: makes white wines look darker
Aroma: makes red and white wines smell stronger
Flavor: makes red and white wines taste richer
Body/Texture: makes red and white wines feel fuller
As I tell the waiters I teach, using oak barrels is like turning up the volume on all of these components in