Have you ever wondered where the oakiness of wine comes from? ? There is a close relationship with the keg… but not only. Discover more with Beaux-Vins !
For thousands of years, wooden barrels are the preferred container for aging and transporting wine. In the world of wine, we like to say that "the barrel is the wife of wine". As in any marriage, it is essential to choose your wife well. If not, you are likely to regret it all your life. This is the case for the life of the wine and its quality. The cask has been the means of transport used since the Etruscans began to use barrels.
Woodiness : between fermentation and maturation
The oak barrel can intervene in two important stages of winemaking.
When we talk about "fermentation in oak barrels", this means that the unfermented grape juice has been placed in the barrels to turn into wine. Fermentation in oak barrels is only feasible for white wines for a fairly simple reason. To produce red wine, the grape juice must ferment with the skins that give it its color. Imagine how long it would take a winemaker to remove the skins through the small hole in the cask.
When we use the expression "aged in oak barrels", this indicates that the already fermented wine has been poured into the barrels to remain there during its maturation, ranging from a few months to a few years. The fermentation of red wine is often carried out in vats then maturation is done in barrels., once the juice has been cleared of the skins.
The role of oak in woody aromas
The barrel plays a big role in the production of wine. By bringing the wine into contact with wood, a real exchange occurs. Oxygen penetrates and causes very gentle oxidation of the wine, which softens the tannins. It is also necessary to regularly add wine to the barrel to compensate for the evaporation of the wine and avoid too much contact between the wine and the air. This process is called topping.
Wood gives wine aromas, that the wood has naturally or that it acquired during the heating of the barrel. After three years, the barrel hardly transmits aromas anymore, or not at all. Aging, however, is not systematic. Light wines do not have the structure to support it and would tend to lose smoothness and fruitiness. Moreover, this aging in oak barrels is a significant cost for the winegrower.
For some years, wine is fashionable with a less pronounced woodiness. This is why there is neutral oak, without flavor transmission. You start with the wine, you do it, you ferment it and then you put it in oak barrels. All these additional aromas are added to the wines.
Without going into too much detail, French oak gives smoky aromas, vanilla, cinnamon, coffee, clove, spices or honey in wine. With American oak, you will rather have vanilla aromas, coconut and some sweetness.
"American oak, against French oak, it is exuberance against elegance. "
What sometimes displeases me with woody aromas
Wines with a vanilla flavor don't please me very much. Vanilla is not a natural taste for grapes, this is just a simple addition. It's like making a cocktail rather than making a real wine. When I smell the taste or the aromas of oak in my glass, I feel like I'm missing the wine behind it.
With the aromas brought by the oak, many errors and flaws can be concealed, leading some to abuse oak by saying "good, we screwed up somewhere so let's throw them a vanilla bomb and it'll pass. ".
We must imagine that oak is to wine what salt is to a dish. Some dishes require a little bit of salt. But, when you put too much on your plate, your dish will only taste like salt. It will completely hide your food. The same goes for oak in wine and the real question to ask is "how much oak is too much oak." ? ".
Some wines require oak, when others don't. Some wines, from the Cabernet grape for example, would be too austere without the aromas of oak to dampen it. In that case, the aromas provided by the oak are essential.
To resume the comparison with salt, the amount of aromas provided by oak depends on each person. Personally, I find that the salt tends to alter the taste of the dish, while others go so far as to put it in the salad. It all depends on individual tastes and habits.
The annoying woody : wooden board juice and wood chips
Today, a lot of things are starting to change in the wine world. A few years earlier, the winegrowers made wine and offered it to consumers. From now on, oenologists know what consumers like according to their age, of their sex, from their country. The wine is made to match a specific target. Of course, it is important for viticulture to adapt to its market, but this can lead to certain abuses.
Influenced by the all too famous critic Robert Parker, oenology consultants offer winegrowers who do not have the means to change their barrels often to immerse pieces of oak directly into the barrel or the stainless steel vat. The goal is to have a quick exchange between wood and wine. There are several techniques to obtain a rapid exchange between wine and wood :
- chips or pieces of wood : enclosed in a food bag, they are immersed in the tank. The speed of diffusion of aromatic compounds in wine depends on the size of the chips used,
- the staves : a number of wood sections is calculated for a desired woodiness intensity and these staves are directly immersed in the wine.
The oak without cask : an economic advantage
We must still recognize an advantage of these methods : winegrowers can produce a woody wine without investing large sums in barrels regularly and therefore offer consumers a wine at a more affordable price.
The economic aspect is the main interest in the use of wood chips. A new barrel of French oak easily costs more than 560 € amortized on 3 years, i.e. a higher cost of 83 € per hectolitre. The cost of using oak chips ranges from 0,15 to 13,30 € per hectolitre. That of the sections or pieces of staves goes from 5 to 26 € per hectolitre.
These methods, which have been highly used for many years in New World wines, have come to be accepted in the European Community since 2005 for aging and 2009 for vinification. Unfortunately, these methods often result in exuberant wines that lack depth and length. These wines, who was forced to have woody aromas, will have a hard time aging properly.
"If the barrel is the wife of wine, the chip is his paramour… "
It is important to have a finish
The use of wood chips in wine is still taboo in the wine world. Rarely, or never indicated on the labels, some do not hesitate to abuse it. Fortunately, as in any marriage, others forbid it. The AOC Saint-Chinian, for example, stipulates black and white in their decree : "The use of pieces of oak wood is prohibited. ". Demeter certified biodynamic wines, or organic wines certified Nature and Progress do the same. The use of wood chips should be made in the greatest transparency and a mandatory mention should appear on the label.
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if I may, I would like to complete or correct certain elements of your article.
The “wooded” often criticized is only a rather marginal aspect of the contribution of a barrel to wine.
The barrel, bring 3 main elements to wines or spirits :
– controlled oxygenation
– tannins
– aromas (3th position)
oxygen is one of the most important elements. depending on the choice of wood by its grain you can dose this contribution. a naturally oxidative grape can quite support a barrel if it protects it from oxygen. It is the role of the cooper in agreement with the winemaker to identify this parameter.
Tannins : without notable aromas the tannins are present to strengthen the structure, the freshness, and the fruitiness of the wines. You can therefore have a wine aging in wood without detecting it.. on the other hand, your wine will have an, a structure. tannins are also antioxidants. (the wines for laying down are mostly woody).
The aromas : indeed the fashion for smoky wood is obsolete. it was nevertheless praised for many years by journalists and tasters. a barrel can be coated, vanilla, café, smoke ………
small point to note is that to attend many tastings, wines in oak are generally better rated than those that are not.
the chips : do not consider them as a flavoring product. this has been done for some specific markets but it has long been over. the shavings allow above all to correct a wine with unpleasant aromas by “cleanser”. for immersing myself in ancient literature on this subject, 18th century monks advocated passing oak curds in a chestnut pan in order to toast them to improve the wine… nothing has been invented recently….
Fruity and freshness are popular today. coopers are adapted to these changes in tastes and customer expectations.
today, you certainly taste woody wines without realizing it.
I wanted to provide these details which seemed important to me.
at your disposal to discuss this subject.
Thank you for these very accurate details ! Indeed, I will have to readjust this article according to. 😉
there is a very interesting table of organic inputs that I recently discovered on the difference between wood chips and barrels / barrels :
Use of wood
Beaux-Vins
It all depends on taste, me the taste of vanilla, if it goes well with the rest, I like a lot, by tasting a wine from the Haut Médoc with a taste of vanilla on the finish, that I started to like and drink wine. All is relative.
I don't like woodless wines, modern fruit-oriented wines (Merlot is very fashionable) are very good but very consensual and without real character.