Wine Facts #1

Sharing Wine Facts From The Glossary Of My Upcoming Book, Pinot Mort

Uses Of Oak In Winemaking

Winemakers use two main types of oak, French and American, to influence wine flavors. Hungarian oak is also a popular variety, as a less expensive alternative with some of the European characteristics. French oak tends to impart more subtle, elegant flavors like spice and mocha, while American oak delivers bolder, sweeter flavors like vanilla and coconut. The use of French oak produces softer tannins than American oak due to its finer wood grain, inhibiting the wood’s effects. Toasting the inside of oak barrels can impart even deeper flavours to wine, such as coffee and tobacco. The different characteristics of each oak type allow winemakers to tailor the wine's aroma and taste to suit specific varietals. A hybrid barrel can be used, typically with staves of one variety and lids of another, to impart some characteristics from two types of oak.

Oak wine barrels also allow a slow, controlled ingress of oxygen into the wine, essential for producing a smooth aging process.

An old wine barrel