To Oak or not to Oak?

Why Oak?

You often hear about 'oaked' or 'unoaked' wine, but out of all the possible types of wood in the world, what makes oak so special? There are plenty of reasons for oaks popularity, oak is both strong and easy to work with, a fairly low tannin content, low porosity, and affects the wine in a pleasant mannor.

While oak isn't exclusively used, however other woods tend to be lined so they don't affect the wine.

Where is it Produced?

The main producers of oak barrels are America and France. These two have slightly different ways of producing oak barrels, and there is a difference to the taste they add to the wine. Someone who makes barrels is called a Cooper.

French Oak

French oak tends to be slower growing, meaning they have more tannin and a finer texture. The oak is split down the grain since it makes the barrels more watertight. The wood is then seasoned outside for several years, this helps reduce the tannins and gives French oak a more subtle flavour. French oak is more expensive, due to seasoning, also splitting down the grain is a less efficient use of the wood.

American Oak

American oak is faster growing and adds more pungent flavours to the wine. The oak is more watertight than French oak, and is sawn across the grain. Doing this ruptures the wood cells, and releases vannilin and lactones. Vanillin gives the vanilla flavour, while lactones give a coconut flavour. The wood is then kiln dried, this concentrates lactones. This process makes American oak flavours more distinctive.

What does it do to a Wine?

The easiest flavour to detect from oak is vanilla, however toast, coconut and smokey flavours can also be tasted.

Chips, Staves or Barrels?

While barrels are regarded THE way to oak a wine, particularly in France, using barrels can easily double the cost of a wine. Barrels need to be repaced after a few years of use since the flavours imparted to the wine will decrease with use.

Cheaper alternatives to barrels involve using the staves from the barrels, or oak chips. These are added to a wine, and it is left to age. Some people regard this as cheating, however if the staves or chips are high quality there is near indistinguishable difference between them and barrels.

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A brief history of Wine | Growing Vines and Grapes | Harvesting | Making Red Wine | Making White Wine | Making Rosé Wine | Making Champagne | To Oak or not to Oak? | From Fermentation to Bottle