Vinnez – August 2010
How to Identify Great Wine
Wine critics get asked this question over and over again. Although I don’t consider myself a wine critic, sometimes people ask me about the “best” wine or my favorite wine. If you think about it, the answer to that question is quite simple.
If you ever traveled to a wine region to taste wine you know what I mean. Inexpensive carafe wine in a bistro in Paris always tastes better than anything you can find at home. That Cabernet Sauvignon purchased at a Dry Creek Valley winery and consumed overlooking the vineyard far surpasses that same wine consumed at home two weeks later. Did the wine degrade on the way back to your house?
The term terroir is used by wine lovers to mean “sense of place.” Although often referring to the geographic characteristics – soil, sunlight, climate – of a vineyard or region, I think it also refers to the environment in which we consume wine. So when I think of “terroir” when drinking wine, I think of the environment and people that surround me. Good wine with great friends in a comfortable setting is far superior to great wine consumed alone.
So if ever want to drink great wine, just invite some of your best friends over on a glorious afternoon and open whatever might be available. I bet that wine will fabulous.
Cheers.
Sincerely,
Barry P. Chaiken, Proprietor
Chaiken Vineyards
info@chaikenvineyards.com
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Why Oak Barrels?
The use of oak in wine plays a significant role in winemaking and can have a profound effect on the resulting wine, affecting the color, flavor, tannin profile and texture of the wine. Oak can come into contact with wine in the form of a barrel during the fermentation or aging periods. It can be introduced to the wine in the form of free-floating oak chips or as wood staves (or sticks) added to wine in a fermentation vessel like stainless steel. Oak introduced in the form of a wine barrel can impart other qualities to the wine through the process of evaporation and low level exposure to oxygen.
In early wine history, the amphora was the vessel of choice for the storage and transportation of wine. Due to the perishable nature of wood material it is difficult to trace the usage of barrels in history. The Greek historian Herodotus noted that ancient Mesopotamians used barrels made of palm wood to transport wine along the Euphrates. Palm is a difficult material to bend and fashion into barrels, however, and wine merchants in different regions experimented with different wood styles to find a better wood source. The use of oak has been prevalent in winemaking for at least two millennia, first coming into widespread use during the Roman empire. In time, winemakers discovered that beyond just storage convenience that wine kept in oak barrels took on properties that improved the wine by making it softer and in some cases better-tasting. Robert Mondavi is credited with expanding the knowledge of winemakers in the United States about the different types of oak and barrel styles through his experimentation in the 1960s and 1970s.
Effects on wine
As the wine matures, its color shifts from deep purple or crimson to a lighter brick-red and takes on a more graduated appearance in the glass.The porous nature of an oak barrel allows some levels of evaporation and oxygenation to occur in wine but typically not at levels that would cause oxidation or spoilage of the wine. In a year, the typical 59-gallon barrel can lose anywhere from 5½ to 6½ gallons of wine through the course of evaporation. This evaporation (of mostly alcohol and water) allows the wine to concentrate its flavor and aroma compounds. Small amounts of oxygen are allowed to pass through the barrel and acts as a softening agent upon the tannins of the wine.
The chemical properties of oak itself can have a profound effect on the wine. Phenols within the wood interact with the wine to produce vanilla type flavors and can give the impression of tea notes or sweetness. The degree of “toast” on the barrel can also impart different properties affecting the tannin levels of the wine as well as the aggressive wood flavors. The hydrolyzable tannins present in wood, known as ellagitannins, are derived from lignin structures in the wood. They help protect the wine from oxidation and reduction.
Wines can be barrel fermented in oak or they can be placed in oak after fermentation for a period of aging or maturation. Wine that is matured in oak receives more of the oak flavors and properties than wine that is fermented in oak. This is because yeast cells interact with and “latch on” to the oak components. When the dead yeast cells are removed from the wine as lees some of these oak properties go with them.
A characteristic of white wines that are fermented in oak include a pale color with an extra silky texture. White wines that are fermented in steel and then matured in oak will have a darker coloring due to the heavy phenolic compounds that are still present. Flavor notes that are common descriptions of wines exposed to oak include caramel, cream, smoke, spice and vanilla. Chardonnay is a variety that has very distinct flavor profiles when fermented in oak that include coconut, cinnamon and cloves notes. The “toastiness” of the barrel can bring out varying degrees of mocha and toffee notes in red wine.
The length of time that a wine spends in the barrel is dependent on the varietal and style of wine that the winemaker wishes to make. The majority of oak flavoring is imparted in the first few months that the wine is in contact with oak but a longer term exposure can affect the wine through the light aeration that the barrel allows which helps to precipitate the phenolic compounds and quickens the aging process of the wine. New World Pinot Noir may spend less than a year in oak. Premium Cabernet Sauvignon may spend two years. The very tannic Nebbiolo grape may spend four or more years in oak. High end Rioja producers will sometimes age their wines up to ten years in American oak to get a desired earthy, vanilla character.
To be continued in the next issue…
Source: Wikipedia
