The Baptism of Oak Barrels
Many wineries will use wooden barrels to age their wines. The delicate texture of oak barrels allows trace amounts of oxygen to penetrate. When the wine comes into contact with oxygen, this “breathing” behavior softens the tannins and makes the wine taste fuller.
Oak barrels are rich in tannins, and the wine secretly “absorbs” the tannins from the barrel, making the wine more complex, varied and attractive.
In addition to softening the tannins and improving the taste, oak barrels give wines a variety of flavors such as dried fruit, toasted almonds, caramel, smoke, spice, clove and coconut. These flavors are balanced and complemented by the wine’s own flavors, bringing the wine to a higher level of complexity and richness.
There are four types of oak barrels most commonly used by winemakers: French oak, American oak, Slovenian oak and Hungarian oak.
French oak barrels are the most delicate and have relatively little air penetration, so their impact on the wine, especially the flavor, is relatively soft. The flavor of the French oak barrels does not dominate the wine, but can be balanced with the flavors developed in the wine itself.
Compared to French oak barrels, American oak barrels have a rougher texture and higher tannin content, so they have a greater impact on the wine than French oak barrels. American oak barrels often bring more prominent vanilla and coconut flavors to the wine, making the wine taste sweeter.
Slovene oak barrels also have a lighter flavor profile and less tannin content, so the wine can age in barrel long enough to develop a third layer of aromas, but without producing too much barrel flavor.
Hungarian oak barrels are much lighter in flavor and tannins than French oak barrels, which give the wine more flavor, such as coffee, chocolate and vanilla.
Aging of wine mud
Mud aging is not as widely used as oak barrel aging. This process originated with the winemakers of Burgundy, France. It was originally used to make Chardonnay wines. Over time, other white wines have also opted for clay aging.
So, what is a wine mash?
The dead yeast cells of a wine after fermentation are the wine sludge. When making white wines, winemakers choose to keep the sludge that settles at the bottom of the vessel, allowing it to undergo subtle chemical reactions and break down into sugars, proteins and other compounds during the aging process.
Retaining the aged wine gives the wine a fuller texture and adds complexity to the wine by adding notes of toast, nuts, butter, toffee, vanilla and even cloves.
In addition, the decomposition products of the mud during the aging process can combine with the small amount of tannins in the white wine to make the wine less difficult and more full-bodied.
As the mud usually settles at the bottom of the vessel, the winemaker also stirs the barrel during the aging process in order to bring the wine into contact with the mud and to accelerate the combination of the breakdown products with the elements in the wine.
Each wine style is shaped by the wisdom of the winemaker and the subtle influence of the winemaking process, in addition to the factors inherent in the varietal and local conditions. Aging is a profound discipline that can “transform” an ordinary wine into an “interesting soul” and richness.
