Things to Consider when Choosing the Right Wine Oak Barrels
For several years already, winemakers favor to use oak for their barrels because it is associated with fine wine. Oak barrels have been used widely in France as winemakers had easy access to the forests that are plenty of oak trees. The timber has tight grains that affect the amount of oak flavors that are contained in every wine produced. They impact more subtle flavors and firmer but silkier tannins as well.
Aside from this, there is another type of oak tree in the form of American oak that is used in wine barrels production. American oak trees do not really differ in the characteristics of their timber even if they come from different forests. They all consist of more vanillin compound and are sweeter as well than its French counterpart.
The inside of the oak barrels, which is occasionally fired, must be considered so that different effects on wine will be produced. If they are partially complete, they are usually placed over a wood fire in order to partially char the inside. No matter what is your choice of wine effects, you can indicate whether you will have fired or char barrels to use.
Oak barrels have various sizes that go from two liters to thousands of liter of wine to contain. However, wines are usually fermented in stainless steel tanks prior to transferring to these barrels for aging. Learn more about this when you click here. You need to consider also that new oak barrels will impart more flavor to the wine rather than the older oak barrels. Due to this, winemakers make certain that they have updated stock of barrel irrespective of the type of oak used in making them.
There are other points that you have to consider when picking the oak barrel for your wine. As mentioned above, the age of the oak is one vital aspect for your choice. When the barrel is brand new, your wine will have more intense oaky flavor. After the fourth or fifth pass of fermentation, the barrel will have negligible flavor and there is nothing left to give.
One more thing to think of is the level of toast and this consist of high, medium and light. It is important that you toast your barrel first before adding the wine to age. Know why this is when you visit this website. Consider the temperature also for toasting as the higher it is, the more intense the wine flavor will be. Additionally, the size of your barrel will also impact your wine since the smaller it is, the stronger is the oak flavor.
Provided all this information, the type of oak is only a minor component but it is a very essential one that can greatly impact the final product. You must take great consideration on your options in order to better enjoy a fine tasting wine that you can sip together with your favorite people.
