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wines aged in oak
Tertiary Aromas: Tertiary aromas (sometimes referred to as “bouquets”) come from aging wine. Aging aromas are attributed to oxidation, aging in oak, and/or aging in bottle over a period of time. The most common example of this is the “vanilla” aroma associated with <anchor>wines aged in oak</anchor>. Other more subtle examples of tertiary aromas are the nutty flavors found in aged vintage Champagne. Often, tertiary aromas will modify primary aromas, with the fresh fruit of a youthful wine changing to be more dried and concentrated as it develops.
Everything You Need to Know About Oaking Wine | Wine Folly
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# The Surprising Truth About Oaking Wine

Written by Madeline Puckette

## Oaking Wine

#### The Truth: Oak Makes Wine Taste Better

From the golden hued Chardonnays of Montrachet to first-growth Bordeaux, the most expensive wines in the world are produced with oak aging. This isn’t an opinion, it’s true. The top fifty most expensive wines in the world are oak-aged in some way. Oak is a crucial and often overlooked component in the world of fine wine. Everything from the type, size, age, grain, and treatment of an oak barrel greatly affects the finished wine.

Let’s take a closer look at the three main types of oak trees used for wine oak aging, as well as treatments that add the perfect ‘je ne sais quoi’ to a finished wine.

## 3 Main Types of Oak

#### French Oak

The oak forests in France are the source of several species of European Oak trees, including white oak used for oaking wine. French Oak (Quercus robur) is common throughout Europe and Sessile Oak (Quercus petraea) is a finer grain species that is more sparse. The forests used for barrel oak are selected for their fine-grained consistent wood. Most notably, well-made barrels from Alliers, Vosges, and Tronçais command the highest prices (upwards of $4,000 per barrel). Limousin oak is more loose-grained, making it more suited for Cognac, Armagnac, Sherry, and whiskey aging.

##### French Oak is The Popular Choice for Oaking Wine

French Oak is very popular for oak aging premium wines. It tends to add flavor compounds (see below) in a more subtle way than the other main types of oak. Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are an ideal match for French Oak because they “soak up” flavor more easily than other varieties (such as Cabernet Sauvignon).

Different grains of French Oak trees. Old growth trees have the tightest grains.

Cost French Oak barrels cost a minimum of $850-$3600 a barrel, depending on quality.

#### American Oak

There are many types of oak trees in America, but the species used for oaking wine is American White Oak (Quercus alba). Quercus alba grows throughout the Eastern US and is commonly found in Missouri. American cooperages predominantly produce barrels for the Bourbon industry. Because of the demand, whiskey makers like Scotland’s “The Macallan” own forests in the United States. American oak tends to be in less demand for wine barrel use.

##### Where American Oak Shines

American Oak imparts a lot of flavor. Wine experts often describe the American Oak flavors as dill, coconut, and vanilla. One thing is for sure, it adds ruggedness to clean, fruit-forward new world wines. Examples of American wine producers who’ve championed the use of American oak include Silver Oak and 5 Star Cellars.

American White Oak grain sizes tend to have looser grains than both French and Eastern European Oak (Quercus robur).

Cost: American Oak barrels cost a minimum of $360-$500 a barrel, depending on quality.

#### Hungarian / Eastern European Oak

Hungarian and Eastern European Oak is the same type of oak tree as French Oak (Quercus robur). More and more Eastern European Oak barrels are being used at wineries for oaking wine. The popular choice for Eastern European Oak is because it’s remarkably similar to French Oak, but costs much less.

##### Why Hungarian? Where It’s Used

After talking with several winemakers about using Hungarian and Eastern European Oak, many like to use it on full-bodied varieties, such as Malbec and Petite Verdot. They believe the wines are strong enough to “hold up” to the richer, nutty flavors the wood imparts on the finished wine.

European Oak is commonly considered the midway point between American and French Oak.

Cost: Eastern European Oak barrels cost a minimum of $560-$700 a barrel, depending on quality.

### What Does Oak Add?

Besides making a cellar look cool, oak adds aroma compounds to wine. Fundamentally, oak lactones have coconut aromas. Some oak is “toasted” by either burning with fire or by using heat radiation to increase different aroma compounds.

VanillanThe aroma of vanillaEugenol and IsoeugenolSpice and clove notesFurfural and 5-MethylfurfuralCaramel and sweet aromasGuaiacol and 4-MethulguaiacolCharred and smoky aromas

### Oak Barrel Alternatives

No matter how you look at it, using new oak barrels for every vintage is wasteful. It’s also very expensive. An oak tree will only make enough wood for about 2 barrels, which will hold only 50 cases of wine. As demand for wine worldwide increases, oak forests will be strained. Oak barrel alternatives are a good idea and here’s why:

##### Oak Barrel Alternatives are More Efficient

A lot of the aroma compounds in new oak barrels are wasted in unused surfaces (i.e. the outside of the barrel). Oak staves, oak chips, and oak cubes are smaller and can use all sides to add aromas to wine.

Did You Know?

Bourbon producers must age their whiskies in new oak for a minimum of one year by law.

##### Oak Barrels Can Be Used for Upwards of 100 Years

It’s perfectly okay if a winemaker is using oak barrels, after all, they last for up to 100 years. Using oak barrels to store wine is great because forests are a renewable resource. After the first 2-3 uses, an oak barrel stops flavoring a wine and is considered “neutral.” See the Life of Cask, From Wine to Whiskey.

##### Oak alternatives are cheaper

Not only are oak barrel alternatives cheaper because they can use more of a single oak tree, they are also more efficient to ship. Oak alternatives take up a much smaller carbon footprint than costly and heavy barrels.

Sources

Top 50 most expensive wines in the world on wine-searcher

### Written byMadeline Puckette

James Beard Award-winning author and Wine Communicator of the Year. I co-founded Wine Folly to help people learn about wine. @WineFolly

### Written byMadeline Puckette

James Beard Award-winning author and Wine Communicator of the Year. I co-founded Wine Folly to help people learn about wine. @WineFolly

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