05/27/08 Oak Barrels Part 2

Welcome to Vine to Wine this is your host Linda Moran. The use of oak barrels in winemaking although tedious and expensive seems to add cachet dimension and value to wine. Today we're going to continue discussing what the oak barrel does for wine. The most widely used barrels hold about 59 gallons of wine. Chestnut, redwood, pine and various other types of wood have all been used to store or make wine in. But none seem to have the lovely influence on wine that oak does. The barrel must be constructed by master coopers, as every aspect of the barrel construction affects the taste of the wine aging in it. The oak barrel affects the wine in a number of ways; it can impart flavor, color and tannin from the wood itself and it has the physical ability to allow the wine much more contact with air than a stainless steel vat or a lined cement tank. Most of the barrel's flavor is extracted from it the first time it is used. So when you read that a wine was fermented or aged in new oak you will know that the wine is in a barrel that has never been used before. The next time that the barrel is used it will not impart nearly the amount of flavor and character that it did the first time around. Most wine barrels are only used for flavor for the first two years after that they will primarily be used to store and age wine. Oak adds a dimension to the wine that so far isn't produced by any other method. So, although it's a spendy venture, it is believed that a good oak barrel is money well spent. Remember to send your wine questions to Linda at Vine to Wine dot net and thank you for joining me on today's Vine to Wine.