Oak brings spice to great Niagara wine
I think one of the biggest mysteries to the layman wine drinker is how the whole ‘oak aged’ thing works, and why this process seems so mysterious and, quite honestly, kind of cool.
We have romantic notions of rows of stacked barrels within the cellar, teasing us with notes of earth, vanilla and toasted bread.
The barrel is the one piece of the wine business that has almost universal recognition as vital to the creation of wine. There are thousands of wines that never enjoy the gentle kiss of oak, and more specifically brag that wood has never touched their world. That being known oak remains king in the spice cabinet of our winemakers.
The history of using barrels for wine is literally two millennia of history, where the transition from storing and transporting wine moved from heavy clay amphorae to more practical wood that eventually had the people of Gaul introduce the use of oak to the world. Romans soon figured out over time during transport of the important wine that this magical oak, that could bend and be fashioned into barrels, was giving wine a sweet, aromatic change to its structure — and the art of oaking wine was born.
Today winemakers have many avenues to use this spice of the wine world in their finished product.
However, just like when a chef goes a little heavy on the cayenne, so can a wine maker give a little too much grain to their finished wine.
Traditionally a full barrel is used, but today we see the use of chips, staves and other options to bring that gnarly integration of wood to the proceedings. An average wine barrel can run close to $1,000 and will be used for about five years. Now imagine a winery that has tens of thousands of cases to produce and a barrel holding just more than 200 litres can give you some insight into why traditionally oak aged wine can be expensive.
Winemaker at Tawse Winery here in Niagara, Paul Pender, who owns a four-time Canadian winery of the year distinction, speaks in loving terms about the nuance of working barrel aging into the finished wine.
He notes that oak is part of the structure and glue that binds the flavours of a wine, but should not be the dominant force nor should it be obvious and forward. Wine is about grapes and terroir and not wood from France or Wisconsin.
The wine geeks of the world will call to mind words like well-integrated and balanced when referring to oak character in a wine.
Keep in mind that unoaked wines will bring freshness and fruit forward, and express the pureness of a grape, while oak can bring fantastic structure and subtle support for those Chardonnays, Pinots and classic Meritage blends that we love so much.
My advice, and partial critique, of the use of oak, is as soon as you can tell it’s oaked, they have overdone it.