It’s been said that oak in wine is like catnip for humans. And there is something positively alluring about the butteriness that time in a toasted barrel imparts. However, some winemakers hide behind barrel-aging, and distinct varietal fruit flavors (which is what wine is really about) are masked. No one, after all, wants to drink a glass of wood.
And it seems that lower-priced California chardonnays, in particular, tend to be the culprits. They may be fine for everyday sipping to unwind after work, but they’re notoriously bad when it comes to pairing. Unless you’ve got a rich, buttery cream sauce, the oak buries the fruit and the wine tastes harsh and flat with food. Good cooks, however, understand how bridge ingredients help pull a dish toward those flavors that make the match compatible; think caramelization, brown butter, sesame oil or toasted nuts.
The wood barrel, in addition, is a source of tannin (which also comes from juice-stem contact during fermentation). It’s a natural preservative and one of the components that gives wine, particularly reds, longevity.
And even with the so-called technological improvements that give winemakers a chance to break with tradition (cement, glass-lined or stainless-steel tanks), many still prefer to rely upon classic barrel-aging methods. Barrel-aging releases tannin into the wine and, secondarily, the wine oxidizes slightly, because the wood is permeable. So, while stainless-steel fermentation and aging can produce clean, unadulterated flavors, the winemaker often wants to manipulate desired tastes in the wine.
For instance, the newer the wood, the more flavor the barrel imparts. Therefore, most winemakers hold with the philosophy that the better the vintage (which means higher quality fruit), the more aging in wood the wine can accept to impart flavor and tannin. The barrels won’t overpower the fruit as they would in a lesser vintage.
The barrel is, in this case, an integral part of the winemaking process. Master Sommelier Andrea Robinson likens it to a marinade for the wine to add a little more flavor, body and sometimes color (in white wines). With a hand on the oak “volume knob,” the winemaker can be subtle, or turn up the wood to “full blast” (or anywhere in between). Lighter whites like riesling would be buried by oak, but medium-weight varietals such as sauvignon blanc can handle light to moderate oak. Chardonnay (depending on the region and producer) may vary from light to extremely prominent buttery styles, as in California and Australia.
Winemakers are able to control the taste the wood imparts by choosing between new, slightly used or old barrels. Vintners can also instruct the coopers who make the barrels to adjust the level of toasting inside of the oak as the barrel is assembled. Just as you can adjust flavors with bread in your home toaster, a lightly toasted barrel will have subtler flavors then a barrel toasted more heavily. The key is balance, matching the oak contact with the weight of the wine.
Next time you visit your favorite wine shop, ask for an unoaked chardonnay and one with prominent barrel-aging. Try to stay within the same region and price point so when you compare the two, you can isolate how the wood alters the fruit. It’s the kind of homework that demands special attention.