Toast, Chocolate and Vanilla are some of the nuances in wine that denote the use of oak. We will ignore in this post the wineries that use oak chips or oak powder. I prefer to discuss oak in terms of oak barrels. Oak barrels come in many types, but that main component of the oak barrels are region (French, Missouri, Hungarian) and toast (light, medium, medium plus, heavy). The majority of barrels I have seen in Napa Valley are French and M or M+ toast. The higher end wineries will use new french oak barrels once ($1200-$2000 a barrel) for Cabernet and after three or more uses the barrel is considered neutral oak which is used for chardonnay or even Sav Blanc.
Our lower end wineries use oak mainly to hide the over ripeness of the grapes or the lack of complexity from high yields. Oak should be used to enhance the wine and should be done in balance, much like alcohol levels or tannin.
One winery that prides itself on its innovative us of oak is Del Dotto Winery of St. Helena. They will take grapes from the same vineyard, same blend and put it in many different types of oak. If you doubt the influence oak can have over a wine then you should take the wine tour at Del Dotto. I have had Rutherford Cabernet in both French and American oak that tasted like two distinct wines that you would never know came from the same vineyard.
How do you feel about oak?
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