French oak
Many consider French oak to be the best for aging wine. It adds more subtle wood flavors and spices to the wine than does its most popular competitor, American oak.
French Oak: The traditional wood for wine barrels, which supplies vanilla, cedar and sometimes butterscotch flavors. Used for red and white wines.
French oak barrels
Barrels made from oak wood from French forests. French barrels impart more subtle wood flavors to wine than do American oak barrels.
Fruit character ...
French oak: Oak wood from the forests of France, considered the preferred type of oak for aging most white wines.
French oak runs close to $600 a barrel and American oak comes in at around $300 a pop.
American and French oaks are sourced from distinctly different species of tree. This affects both the physical and chemical properties of the barrel staves and thus the sensory impact that the oak has on the wine.
barriqueSmall French oak barrel. barroFertile brown clay found in the Jerez region of Spain. batonnageStirring the lees with a stick to increase flavour extraction. bauméA scale for must weight.
French oak
Oak of the genus/species Quercus robur, or Quercus petraea harvested in France
Fruit bomb
Soft wines from very ripe grapes that contain big fruit flavors and low acid levels
Hard
Aggressive wines high in acidity or tannins.
[yellow tail] Chardonnay This is a white wine, made from Chardonnay grapes, and aged in French oak barrels. The label color is black.
American Oak: Increasingly popular as an alternative to French oak for making barrels in which to age wine as quality improves and vintners learn how to treat the wood to meet their needs.
The wine is put into 225L French oak barrels where it completes the second fermentation (called Malolactic Fermentation: Bacterial fermentation in which malic acid is converted to lactic acid and carbon dioxide, ...
The wine is distilled (which by law has to happen by March 31 of the next year after harvest) and you are left with the fresh spirit (called eau-de-vie.literally translated to 'water of life.') This is then transferred to French oak barrels that ...
Heavier on the Syrah and much lighter on the Mourvedre than Pastiche, Le Mistral also sees a more extended oak treatment (19 months in a combination of old and new all-French oak barrels, ...
A popular alternative to French oak for making barrels. Known to impart strong vanilla, dill and cedar notes, it is used primarily for aging Cabernet, Merlot and Zinfandel. It is occasionally used for Chardonnay or Pinot Noir.
The kind of oak traditionally used in Rioja is American, however many producers are using French oak.
How much does it cost per bottle to age wine in a French oak barrel?
12. How much does it cost per bottle to age wine in only new French oak barrels?
13. How much white zinfandel is consumed in this country?
You can find it un-oaked, allowing the native characteristics of the grape to shine, or aged in French oak barrels or American oak. French oak imparts a milder flavor than American. Watch for distinct aromas and flavors of butter in most Chardonnays.
Cloves: usually the mark of new French oak.
Cold: the meaning is obvious. Too often, wines are served so cold that their odors and flavors are stunted, unable to show themseIves.
The grapes mature Fumin alone, may give rise to a long-lived red wine, rich body, to be used for aging, which goes well with the high quality of French oak barrels (barriques).
From Russian River, California, this wine is fermented entirely in French oak barrels to produce a wine with a seductive, round texture and notes of sweet vanilla.
Again winemakers started taking the wine seriously and many even invested in French oak casks to age it.
Nevers: (nev-are) One of the types of French oak used for wine barrels. Similar to Alliers in that both come from central France and both woods are tight-grained as opposed to Limousin, which has a looser, more open grain.
oak, the most common sort of wood used for barrels. Usually either soft, sweetish American oak or tauter, more savoury French oak.
Oechsle, measure of sugar concentration in grape juice (and therefore grape ripeness) or must common in Germany.
(Not everyone would consider that a plus, of course.) They are rich and ripe, usually with prominent wood flavors from aging in American and/or French oak barrels.
After gentle pressing the juice is settled overnight and racked to small French oak barrels of which 35% are new. We also put the wine through malo-lactic fermentation, which helps soften the wine and give a nice creamy texture.
Winemaking methods will affect the final price of the bottle. The use of wood aging is a good example. Does the winemaker use expensive new French oak barrels to carefully age the wine, or does he or she simply toss in some wood chips for flavoring?
Limousin: An old province and a large forest in France near the town of Limoges. The major source of French oak for wine barrels.
Liqueur: A sweet, alcoholic after-dinner drink, also known as a cordial.
Barriques hold 225 litres, hogsheads 300 litres and puncheons 500 litres. French oak is usually more subtle in its impact than American oak. Oak chips are sometimes used to add character to cheaper wines.
There are about 400 species of oak, though only about 20 are used in making oak barrels. Of the trees that are used, only 5% is suitable for making high grade wine barrels. The average age of a French oak tree harvested for use in wine barrels is 170 ...
The terms toasty, vanilla, dill, cedary and smoky indicate the desirable qualities of oak; charred, burnt, green cedar, lumber and plywood describe its unpleasant side. See also American oak, French oak.
Fermentation of white wine in barrels (normally French oak for chardonnay), because it occurs at higher temperatures, allows air to reach the wine, and imparts phenolic and flavor extracts from the barrel, alters the aroma, texture, ...
are parts of a vineyard that have been specifically identified and cared for, for one reason or another; in short, it means the vines are of high quality, in a fantastic location, and old). After fermentation, the wine spent 18 months in French oak ...
Used in Ohio to produce wine with mild tannins and elevated acid content best enhanced with french oak flavors. Finished wine is regarded by some as vaguely similar to a young Italian "Chianti" beverage.
 See also: Wine, Oak, Barrel, Red, Bottle
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