Dan’s Cellar Notes for January 2006

By Dan Mouer

Happy New Year !!!

My New Year Resolution: I will get my “Dan’s Cellar” column turned in on time every month!!!! :-}

Oak and Wine, Part 1

At a recent meeting of The Central Virginia Winemakers, Bob Henderson, of the Weekend Brewer, mentioned that a good discussion topic for an up-coming meeting would be “oak;” in other words, how to choose when to use it, how much to use, what kind to use, etc. Well, Bob, thanks for the good idea, because it’s a topic we haven’t dealt with in much detail yet here in this column.

The flavors, aromas, and other effects of storing wine in oak vats, tanks or barrels have become expected components in many of the wines we enjoy. Of course, it was not always so! In ancient Greece and Rome, wine was stored and transported in large earthenware jars called amphorae. To prevent leakage, the insides of these jars was coated with pine resin; thus, the wines themselves took on some of that spicy, piney flavor of the resin itself. Today, many think of Retsina (resin-flavored wine) as the classic flavor of Greek wine.

For several centuries now, however, the preferred storage vessels for most of the winemaking world have been made of wood. Many different types of wood are used: many Italian wines spend a year or more aging in huge old vats made of chestnut, for example. For many reasons, however, oak—especially various species of white oak—has been the preferred material. Traditionally, wine was stored in very large wooden tanks or barrels—much larger than the common small barrel, or barrique, in use today.

For the most part, such large vessels impart very little flavor to the wine. Instead, they serve merely as holding tanks. Even so, because wood is permeable, there is always some amount of evaporation of both water and alcohol through the pores of the vessel. Thus wines aged in large wooden tanks will, over time, become somewhat richer and more concentrated.

In the 17^th century, the English began importing wines from France, Spain, and Portugal in a very big way. At first these were generally shipped in squarish bottles held in wooden cases with squarish holes to accommodate the bottles: these were called “case bottles.”

Case bottle from the 1600s

Smallish barrels of various sizes were soon found to be a better way of shipping wines: especially the fortified wines of Port, Jerez (Sherry), Madiera, and the Canary Islands, which were being made especially for overseas sale. At the same time (early 1700s), the glass industry learned to mass-produce free-blown bottles. Glass bottles sealed the wine away from oxygen, and, therefore, preserved it much better. Wine drinkers soon learned that wine stored in glass actually improved, while wine stored in barrels would, eventually, become oxidized and vinegary.

Evolution of bottle shapes in the 18^th century

Even though they were mass-produced, to some extent, many such bottles were “personalized” by the addition of a bottle seal. These seals bore the names or initials of the bottles owner, or of the tavern where they would be used. These sorts of bottles were all the rage at public houses, and at home among the English gentry, both in England and in “the colonies.”

Early 18^th-c bottle with family crest bottle seal

Despite their popularity for serving wine, bottles were not a convenient method of storing or shipping large quantities of wine. Ancient Celts are generally credited with first using barrels for wine and cider, but the French are the ones who standardized the practice, in relatively modern times, of using barriques –small (approximately 60 gallons) barrels–as the standard for wine. Time spent in small, white oak barrels can profoundly affect the flavors, aromas and textures of wine. The nature and extent of such effects depend on a number of factors: most importantly the age of the barrel, the length of time the wine spends in the barrel, the species of oak used, the use and extent of any barrel “toasting,” and, of course, the type and strength of wine being stored.

We will continue to explore the magic (and pitfalls!) of oak and wine over the next few months.

Know your grapes

Gamay (or, properly, Gamay Noir a Jus Blanc)

Gamay is best known as the grape of Beaujolais, that region of Northern Burgundy famous for fruity, medium-bodied reds. Gamay is now considered to be a true member of the Pinot family, and is probably descended from Pinot noir, which it much resembles. True Gamay is NOT the same grape as so-called “Gamay Beaujolais” which is a California grape that is yet another Pinot Noir clone. More confusion abounds due to the name “Napa Gamay,” which is used both for a completely unrelated (and inferior) grape as well as for some actual (often delicious) Gamay Noir grown in California. Kit buyers who purchase kits to make “Bergamais”—the wine-kit industry’s code for Beaujolais-like wine—may or may not be getting a product based on Gamay.

Grenache (in Spain known as Garnacha Tinta)

Grenache is probably the most widely-planted red grape in the world. It is a true pan-Mediterranean variety. Grenache probably makes its best wines as a major part of a blend (usually including Mourvedre, Cinsault, Syrah, and/or Carignan). Grenache is a hot-country wine that often brings strawberry-like fruit and lots of alcohol to a blend. The wine tends to be low in acid and it oxidizes easily. Grenache, on its own, can be fairly light red in color—with a bit of orange tint. It is probably at its best in wines of the southern Rhone Valley, and in cooler mountain valleys in Spain.

Many identify Grenache with pink wines, and it is, in fact, the main component used in the famous rosé wines from Tavel. Grenache wines can be delicious on their own; conversely, they may often just be “hot” and oxidized. Except for rosé, Grenache is at its best in blends.

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For info on the Central Virginia Winemaker’s group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CentralVirginiaWinemakers/