Happenings at TWC
Oak Barrels for Wine – Part Three
Different barrels from different oak sources and cooperages are often called the “winemakers’ spice rack.” From experience, a winemaker learns what barrel types best impart desired aromas and flavors into different varieties and styles of wine. New barrels impart far more flavor into a wine than a used barrel. Typically a new barrel gives up 55-65% of its flavoring components during the first use. Second use can impart 20-35% flavoring while third and fourth use impart 15-25% and 10-15%, respectively. Over time oak flavoring properties are "leached" out of the barrel and less wood flavoring is available for the vintage of wine stored in the barrel. Continue »
Feb 15, 2017 at 7:00 AM
Permalink
Oak Barrels for Wine – Part Two
A cooper, or barrel maker, has the time-honored task of creating a liquid tight container (an oak wine barrel) from a pile of wooden staves. The staves are heated, traditionally over an open fire but more frequently now with infrared radiant heaters or steam, until they become pliable. The staves are then bent into the desired shape and bound together with iron rings. The heating process “toasts” the barrel which creates a number of flavor components from wood chemicals and brings them to the surface for eventual contact with the wine. The toasting can be light, medium, medium-plus or heavy, even charred (think Jack Daniels Whiskey barrel). Following the traditional, hand-worked style, a cooper is typically able to construct one-to-two oak barrels per day. Continue »
Comments (1)Oak Barrels for Wine – Part One
Oak is an important winemaking tool that can have significant impact: influencing color, flavor, tannin profile and even the texture of wine. Oak treatment normally occurs when wine is fermented and/or aged in barrels, but increasingly oak alternatives, chips, pellets, staves, etc., are used to add oak influence to wine in other vessels, e.g., stainless steel or plastic tanks. Continue »
Jan 18, 2017 at 7:00 AM
Permalink
Decanting Wine – Why and How
Over the holidays, I was asked twice about the slightly mysterious practice of decanting wine and allowing it to “breathe” before consumption. Most wine consumers have heard of this practice, and many have observed it being done to their wine in a restaurant or by someone at an event. The primary reasons for decanting a wine are, 1) to allow a wine’s aromas and flavors to develop more quickly by exposing it to air (oxygen), and 2) to remove most or all of the sediment that some wines, especially older reds, may have developed. Continue »
Jan 4, 2017 at 7:39 AM
Permalink
Holiday Wines and the Thanksgiving Feast
Most of us gather with family and friends for a traditional Thanksgiving feast. It is a very special time, and certainly one of the most treasured traditions here in the United States of America. For me, that Thanksgiving feast is accompanied by several special bottles of wine selected to pair with all those amazing food items we tend to serve during the holiday. Here are several recommended selections available at 4.0 Cellars. Continue »
Nov 23, 2016 at 7:00 AM
Permalink
How to Keep “Leftover” Wine
What is “leftover” wine? For some, it is hard to imagine such a thing. The best case scenario is not to leave any wine in a bottle. But, if you sometimes find wine left in the bottle(s) after dinner or at evening’s end, what can be done about it? Continue »
Aug 31, 2016 at 7:00 AM
Permalink