Oak in Wine or Naked?

Do you like your wine oaked or naked (unoaked)? What’s all the fuss about oak? For starters, consider flavor, color, body, complexity, and ability to preserve and store wine for longer periods of time. Oak barrels have been used for centuries to store wine (and other alcoholic beverages, such as whiskey, rum, and bourbon). It works best with beverages which are bold and have their own distinctive taste. Therefore, more red wines than white wines and more whiskey makers than vodka makers tend to utilize oak for aging their products. The photo below shows a local exception (Lazy Eye Distillery in Richland, NJ does both styles of vodka well-using NJ grapes).

If you have tried an oaked and an unoaked Chardonnay you may have found yourself asking, “Are these both made with the Chardonnay grape?” They can taste that differently. The same is true of other varietals. Oak can contribute a myriad of flavors, including vanilla, caramel, chocolate, smoke, cola, coconut, and baking spices to name a few.

Last week I shared that Terra Nonno, in Rosenhayn, offers several varietals in oaked and “naked” versions. Above is their French Oaked Chardonnay and Autumn Lake Winery’s oaked Albarino. It is the only one I have ever seen or tasted. They also make an unoaked version. Both are very good.

Oaking can obviously darken the color of the wine, while it also tends to add to the body of a wine. Too much oaking can detract from the acidity and fruitiness of the grapes involved. So it’s not a case of “the more the better”, even if you like the flavors and other qualities that oak brings to the finished product. That’s where the term “balance” comes in.

The photo above shows three red classics that benefit from aging in oak: Amalthea Cellars 2015 Legends Edition Series IV; Turdo Vineyards Turis 2014 Etichetta D’Oro Nebbiolo; and William Heritage 2013 Winery Estate Reserve BDX.

Are there differences in barrels? Absolutely. Most barrels are made of oak, though you occasionally may see acacia or a lesser known wood used for storing or fermenting wine. But even with oak, there is a big difference in types of oak. The most common oaks used are American White Oak, French Oak and Hungarian Oak. Cost is certainly a consideration, as the average oak barrel will set you back $1,200 to $1,500. American oak is the least expensive, while French oak is the most expensive. French Oak is also more subtle than American oak or Hungarian oak, in terms of the intensity of the flavors it imparts.

What other factors may influence the taste imparted by the oak?

• Age-The newer, the stronger the flavor imparted. Older oak is considered, “neutral”
• Size-The smaller barrels impart a more significant effect than larger barrels.
• Length of time spent in the oak barrel-the longer it is oaked, generally, the greater the effect (on flavor, color, body, and shelf-life). The wine can also spend time in more than one type of oak barrel.
• Less commonly, a few winemakers have experimented with charring their barrels. This is often done with whiskey barrels. Going a step farther, some have used whiskey or bourbon barrels to store or age their wines, imparting an altogether different flavor. This is more commonly done with beers, especially stouts, but becoming more common with an occasional bold red wine.

I should note that some winemakers may also utilize a short-cut and less expensive intervention-the use of oak chips added to the wine. From a personal perspective, I used to make my own beer and occasionally utilized this method to oak my beer.  I did not have the money or space to purchase an oak barrel for my hobby. The results were actually quite good!

This post barely scratches the surface of the topic of using oak in winemaking. I hope that if nothing else, you leave this post with a greater appreciation of the art and science that make up winemaking. I also hope you pay attention to factors other than the variety of grape that you decide you like or don’t like. This will make it easier for you to choose wines you will like. If you didn’t like a Chardonnay, perhaps it was the oak.  Or perhaps it was missing that oak that you enjoy in your Cabernet Sauvignon. Grapes don’t grow with flavors of vanilla or chocolate or cola (but oak may provide them).

Cheers!

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