On May 8, 4:23�pm, Adam Funk > wrote:
> On 2007-05-08, Mark Lipton wrote:
>
> > "Natural Wine" is an actual movement among French winemakers. *It refers
> > to an ethic that minimizes/avoids the use of SO2 to stabilize wine,
> > favors a non-interventionist approach to winemaking (indigenous yeasts,
> > little or no use of new oak, etc.) and viticulture (hand harvesting,
> > selection massale). *
>
> What's "new oak" and what's considered undesirable about it? *(I'm
> guessing that it refers to aging in unused barrels --- but what were
> the used ones used for?)
>
> --
> I put bomb in squirrel's briefcase and who gets blown up? Me!

As to how you get used oak, tyically in "old days" a producer might
bring in a few new barrels to replace ones that were leaking (or if
production had increased). Typically these barrels would be used as
part of the elevage of the biggest wines in the stable. Or, a producer
might buy used barrels from another producer who typically used more
new oak (like the classified growths in Bordeaux, or most GC
Burgundy, etc).

Another factor in the perception of "new oak" is that heavier toasts
of the barrels tend to increase oak flavors.

Size of barrels in another factor. A 225L barrique has more surface
area proportionally than a big foudre.