Wine Barrel Construction

The first thing is that oak barrels leach some flavors from the wood into the wine. The second is that they don’t exclude air completely, but allow the wine to be exposed to a constant but very low level of oxygen. Both of these can be a good thing; they can be bad. It depends. It is for this reason that the nature and quality of oak matters a good deal in barrel construction.

The two main types of oak used for wine are French and American. French oak is finer grained and more expensive; American oak is cheaper and gives the wine more flavor, but this flavor tends to work better with richer, more robust wines. The flavor compounds from oak include those that give a vanilla/coconut character, of which there are more in American oak, and also those which give toasty, spicy, woody notes. Sometimes wood can give slightly bitter green notes, and these aren't desirable. I also get a bit of tar-like character from some oaked wines.

For use in barrel construction, oak is cut into small pieces called staves, which are then used to make the barrel. These are seasoned for a period: three years outdoors is the ideal, in a climate where there is some rain. If the seasoning is suboptimal, undesirable flavors can remain in the oak ready to be transmitted to the wine.

During barrel construction these staves are joined together with metal hoops, and then heated over a fire to soften the wood and make it pliable. This heating process can char the inside of the barrel, and the degree of charring or toasting is important in how the barrel will interact with the wine. It’s another variable.

New barrels impart more flavor to wine than old. Barrels are re-used for several years, and the amount of new or old oak used in a wine is important. The use of too much new oak, which makes the wine taste oaky, is widely considered to be a wine fault. And some wines are better able to cope with oak than others.

Come out to the Martin Ranch Winery on the 3rd weekend of the Month, when the Winery is open to the public and wine club members. We always look forward to seeing you!