View Single Post
  #12 (permalink)   Report Post  
Posted to alt.food.wine,rec.crafts.winemaking,rec.food.drink
Mark Lipton[_1_] Mark Lipton[_1_] is offline
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 2,849
Default 'Natural wine' ?

Adam Funk wrote:

> OK! But that does mean that the winemakers who oppose new oak are
> expecting other winemakers to do their dirty work (turning new oak
> into old oak) for them.


Well, it's hardly regarded as dirty work. Many famous French chateux
will only use a barrel once and then discard it. So, other wineries
less enamored of the flavor of new oak will buy those used barrels for
their own use. Alternatively, a wine maker can fill his new barrel with
water, let it stand for a month or so and then dump the water. That's
supposed to remove a lot of the new oak flavor. In case you're asking
why a winemaker would want to use an oak barrel if they don't like the
flavor of oak, here's the answer: aging wine in oak amounts to a
low-level oxidation, rounding out a lot of the flavors and also imparts
some tannins to the wine to help it age. Thus, many winemakers seek out
"neutral oak" barrels to accomplish this.

Mark Lipton


--
alt.food.wine FAQ: http://winefaq.hostexcellence.com