To oak, or not to oak? That is the question…..

It was announced at the end of a yoga session that I apparently enjoy an enviable position by being able to travel to various wine regions for the Wine Warehouse. After the announcement I was pleased at the number of fellow yoga junkies who smiled and said that they shop at our stores. Last Saturday, one very limber, side crowing and head standing young lady had an epiphany about her wine tasting likes and dislikes. She realized that she likes her whites without oak. Mr. Bloggy was curious and asked which wine was the catalyst for her un-oaked realization? The wine was Steele California Chardonnay? Apparently some genius restauranteur had told her that the reason that she liked this Chardonnay is because it was fermented in ‘steel(e)’ just as the name suggests. All of Jed Steele’s wines that I have ever consumed were neither shy with the oak nor without overt fruit characters. To confirm my suspicion I went onto Steele’s web site and pulled this winemaking note on the Steele Chardonnay: ‘The juice is fermented in French oak barrels of which 30% are new. The wine remains in barrels for eight months.’ Translation: this wine will be oaky with a sweet vanillin overtone. Needless to say, our previously un-oaked convert was somewhat annoyed at the restauranteur and curious to find out what it was that she liked about the Chardonnay.


Before taking wine advice to heart, it is best to know that your wine advisor is competent and will give you good advice. This is what we do at the Wine Warehouse. Secondly, it is not a bad idea to taste differing wine styles and identify what makes them taste differently and which styles that you prefer. This knowledge will help to guide you when making future wine purchases.

How about we continue our journey on oaked versus non-oaked wines? Stainless steel is widely used for holding wine, both for ageing and, most importantly for fermentation. Stainless steel for winemaking became popular in the 1960’s after some Aussie winemakers had taken a visit to a dairy processing plant and though that these tanks could work equally as well in wine production. Advantages of using steel include wines being able to be produced in a sanitary environment, having a great advantage over wood because it is easy to clean and oxygen can be completely excluded from it and by efficiency of use for inert gas to fill the head space for oxygen protection if necessary. The bottom line is that SS fermentations lead to wines with pure, primary fruit aromas and flavors of the grape.



Stainless steel and oak are commonly used in combination to produce wine. There is efficiency in the hygiene, the temperature control abilities and consistency of steel tank fermentations. Even though there is now a trend back to wooden and cement vats in Bordeaux, a large percentage of Bordeaux reds are fermented in SS and left to mature in oak barrels just after the malo-lactic conversion has taken place. Some are now completing malo in barrel in an effort to better integrate the oak to the wine.

Oak has been the traditional method for fermentation and ageing for centuries. Oak flavors in turn can be traditional. If a wine is fermented or matured in a wooden container, many different aspects of that container may shape its character and flavor, apart from those compounds that may be directly extracted from the oak wood and absorbed into the wine as wood flavor. For the winemaker, the most obvious advantage of ageing a wine in wood rather than an inert container is that wood encourages natural clarity and stability.

Barrel fermentation or fermenting in small oak barrels is particularly well adapted to wine made from Chardonnay grapes. Barrel fermentation offers the possibility of extracting a controlled amount of oak flavoring into the wine and, since barrels have a large surface to volume ratio, refrigeration may not be needed.

New oak barrels are the most expensive but they are not necessarily valued the same by all winemakers. New barrels have strong oaky flavors that can overwhelm subtle wines and some winemakers, especially in Burgundy, deliberately minimize this effect by using only a small proportion of new barrels or by ‛breaking in‚ new barrels on lesser wines. Within a given type and style of wine, the richest wines will absorb the most oak with positive effects. Older barrels are still important for wines where the winemaker seeks slow oxygenation of the wine without the perceptible oak flavor. Older barrels are common for producers making Port, Sherry and in many cases Rioja.

When barrels are expensive and the wine to be produced is not, winemakers and winery owners will seek ways of economizing on barrel purchases. Winemakers are now looking increasingly to barrel alternatives such as inner staves and oak chips. Currently it is possible to utilize the efficiency of stainless steel tanks, while obtaining characteristics of oak ageing in barrels by gently bubbling in oxygen to the wine while using staves or chips. The process is called micro-oxygenation. This is not deception or trickery, but a more efficient way to bring a particular style of wine to market and a more reasonable price. With the current state of the $ versus the €, a new French oak barrel that can hold 225 liters which is around 25 cases of wine costs approximately $900. Using the handy-dandy Bloggy calculator, it converts to $4 per litre of wine or $3 added to the bottom line for every 750ml bottle produced. That $3 turns into $6 to the consumer after the bottle passes through the food chain of wine distribution.

Listed below are some fun comparisons of oaked and un-oaked wines where you will be able to see the difference in their respective styles.

Your un-oaked Chardonnay option…….

Novellum Chardonnay (Languedoc, France)

The Languedoc’s climate is very similar to California’s. Before fermentation, there is a cold soak for the Chardonnay which extracts extra aromatics from the skins. After the alcoholic fermentation, the Chardonnay is passed over the lees of the Viognier produced at the estate. Some of the Viognier is allowed to develop botrytis, so that aromas that are picked up by the Chardonnay are rich and full, usually consisting of peaches, honey, honeysuckle, and pear. Year after year, the Novellum Chardonnay is one of the best Chardonnay values on the market. No oaking for flavor here, skin contact and lees contact are the methods for complexity.

Novellum Chardonnay 2006, Retail $10.99 Warehouse $8.99

Your oaked Chardonnay option…………..

Calamity Chardonnay ‘Carneros’ 2005.

Besides this wine coming off of vines in a fantastic part of the Napa Valley, the fermentation was done in barrel on natural yeasts that tend to ferment out slower and gives a rich glycerol coating to the palate. This Chardonnay is extremely fresh, but the texture and flavors are a mouthful.This wine has characters of pear, tropical fruits and vanilla jumping out of the glass.. Ripe and complex, turning elegant and creamy, with lots of peach, pear, fig and nectarine flavors that are smooth and plush.

Calamity Chardonnay ‘Carneros’ 2005, Retail $21.99 Warehouse $14.99

Your un-oaked Sauvignon Blanc option………

Southern Eclipse from Marlborough in New Zealand is cool-fermented exclusively in stainless steel for primary fruit expression on both the bouquet and on the palate. This wine displays fresh tropical fruit aromas with green apple, gooseberry, grapefruit and a hint of passion fruit flavors on the palate. There is a nice crisp zing to the finish. Sancerre in France has been the standard bearer of crisp zingy Sauvignon Blanc for the world. Marlborough can act a bit like Sancerre on steroids as its characteristics can be a bit amplified. This wine is an example of Marlborough meeting Sancerre, not running over it.

Southern Eclipse Sauvignon Blanc 2006, Retail $14.99 Warehouse $12.99

Your oaked Sauvignon Blanc option……………..

Also from Marlborough in New Zealand, Richardson Sauvignon Blanc uses a combination of whole bunch and de-stemmed fruit. The whole bunch pressed fruit went through a warm wild ferment in barrel, after which it sat on lees for four months. Occasional lees stirring occurred throughout that period. The de-stemmed fruit was vat fermented at a cool (14 degrees average) temperature which captured the fruit essence and created the structure for the wine. The two procedures add to the complexity of the finished wine.

Michelle Richardson's note: This wine has an intense bouquet, reminiscent of ripe gooseberries and melon with a hint of nettle. The palate is full and inviting with the wild ferment portion creating a viscosity that wraps around the natural Marlborough acidity, and the cooler ferment provides structure, fruit spectrum and provides a lingering and strong finish. Only 300 cases made it into the US.

Richardson Sauvignon Blanc 2006, Retail $24.99 Warehouse $19.99

Yes, there are red wines that do not see oak. Your un-oaked Cabernet Franc option…

St. Nicolas de Bourgueil “Les Rouilleres”

100% Cabernet Franc from 15-35 year old vines. A pre-harvest grape sorting and de-stemming was utilized before fermentation. The grapes were macerated for 8-10 days and then aged in stainless steel tanks for 7-9 months before release.

Dark, bright red. Minerals and crushed raspberry on the nose with fresh and vibrant fruit characters following through on the palate. Fresh and supple from a ripe vintage.

St Nicolas de Bourgueil “Les Rouilleres” 2005, Retail $15.99 Warehouse $12.99

Your oaked Cabernet Franc option…..

Domaine des Roches Neuves (Saumur-Champigny)

One of the brightest stars in French winemaking today, Thierry Germain is making the wine world re-think how it has perceived Cabernet Franc from the Loire. His tiny property is certified biodynamic and his yields are a miniscule 15-30 hl/ha, almost a full 40 hl/ha under his neighbors and hence, the lack of the need for beets. The vines are vibrant and wild, with tiny berries filled with concentrated fruit and mineralityA low-yield bottling of pure Cabernet Franc, this wine is fermented in large oak casks before ageing for 12-14 months in 1 year old French oak barrels.

Dark red-ruby color. Bright red berry, mineral, leather and truffle nose. Chewy blue and black fruits are evident with a hint of truffles and earth. Displays supple, ripe, and harmonious balance. Finishes with fine, sweet tannins and a supple grip.

Domaine des Roches Neuves Saumur Champigny “Terres Chaudes” 2005, Retail $29.99 Warehouse $24.99


Times a' wasting............Let's get tasting................