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FOOD AND WINE COMMENTARYPublished online: 22 Sep 2008.

To cite this article: (2007) FOOD AND WINE COMMENTARY, Journal of Culinary Science& Technology, 5:4, 97-102, DOI: 10.1300/J385v05n04_08

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FOOD AND WINE COMMENTARYRobert J. Harrington, Column Editor

THE IMPACT OF OAK:IMPLICATIONS FOR FOOD AND WINE PAIRING

The use of oak in the process of wine fermentation and aging hasbeen called the winemaker’s marinade (Immer, 2000). Just as a culinarianutilizes a marinade for a variety of purposes (adding flavor, tenderizing,etc.), the use of oak during wine fermentation and aging has a number ofpurposes from both a winemaking and food and wine pairing perspec-tive (Harrington, 2008). From the standpoint of wine making, the addi-tion of oak has two main purposes: a slow oxidation process of thewine and adding oak phenolics to impact the finished wine character-istics (Boulton, 1996; Jackson, 2000). For the purposes of food andwine pairing, oak impacts four sensory areas: sight, smell, texture andflavor (Peynaud, 1996; Harrington, 2008). First, oak fermentation andaging impacts both color and aroma. The addition of oak during thewine production process can change the color creating a darker andricher color in whites and a more mature brick red color in red wines.Aroma changes can be perceived as vanilla, smoky, or “oaky.” Thesearomas can also be picked up as retro-nasal sensations or flavors. Oakcan also impact the body of wine making it fuller bodied than the typicalvarietals without oak as well as adding some additional tannin or astrin-gency (e.g., Jackson, 2000; Zoecklein, 1999). All of these characteris-tics have a possible impact on foods to pair with white and red wines.

This paper looks at a variety of implications in storing wine in oak,specific decisions made by the winemaker in this regard, and, ulti-

Journal of Culinary Science & Technology, Vol. 5(4) 2007Available online at http://jcst.haworthpress.com

� 2007 by The Haworth Press. All rights reserved.doi:10.1300/J385v05n04_08 97

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mately, how using oak during the wine production process impacts ourfood and wine pairing decisions.

How Do You Know When Wine Has Been Aged in Oak?

Besides opening the bottle of wine and smelling or tasting it, there areseveral ways to determine if the wine has been fermented or aged in oak.The first indicator is price–the use of oak barrels is not cheap and thewine price will reflect this additional winemaking element (Harrington,2008; Immer, 2000). Secondly, the majority of red wine has been agedin oak (Jackson, 2000)–but vary in length of oak aging, size of barreland age of oak barrel (more on this in a moment).

The most common white varietals that is aged in oak is Chardonnaybut some Sauvignon Blanc and other varietals may receive oak aging.While Chardonnay is frequently aged in oak, it is also common to cre-ate unoaked Chardonnays. So the question becomes: how do youknow if it has received oak aging or fermentation? Besides price, fre-quently, the label will provide an indication. The label description orwinemaker’s notes generally will clarify this issue or at least provide aclue. If the label describes the wine with descriptors such as barrel aged,barrel select, barrel fermented, oak aging, etc., you know that the winehas received oak at some point during the fermentation or aging pro-cess. Wine makers descriptions may clearly define the number ofmonths aged in oak, the type of oak or may provide clues in the tastingnotes with descriptions such as “aromas of vanilla,” “smoke,” “cedar,”etc. (Harrington, 2008).

Wine Storage in Barrels

Storage of wine in oak barrels has several effects. The overall ef-fects on a red wine include several aspects. First, oak storage providesa process of slow oxidation of the wine. This oxidation process softenswine tannin and increases red color intensity. The process also ex-pands the wine’s complexity adding aromatic compounds to the fin-ished wine. As the wine ages in oak, water and alcohol evaporationtakes place. This process increases dry extract and flavor in the fin-ished wine. Finally, storage of wine in oak creates a gradual develop-ment of an aged bouquet (Boulton, 1996; Jackson, 2000; Zoecklein,1999).

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Barrel Characteristics that Impact Effects

All oak aging is not created equal and a winemaker has several deci-sions that will impact the finished product. Some of these characteris-tics include barrel size, amount of toasting, type of oak, and whether touse new or used barrels.

Barrel size can vary substantially; the key factor in this relationship isthe amount of contact between the wine and the oak surface area–thesmaller the barrel the more contact and hence the greater the impact ofoak on the finished product (and the higher the price!). Standard oakbarrels range in size from 50 and 60 gallons to from 80 to 135 gallons(300 to 500 liters) (Boulton, 1996).

Barrel toasting. It is common to toast the inside surface of barrelswith an open fire. Barrel toasting can range from light, medium andheavy. The toasting provides a very distinct aroma often described asfresh bread, butterscotch, or toasted almond. These aromas are particu-larly evident in white wine aged in toasted oak. Toasting also softens thephenol extraction into the wine when using new barrels. Phenols are anyclass of aromatic organic compounds and are particularly strong in newoak barrels (Jackson, 2000).

French vs. American oak. The majority of quality oak used in wineproduction are European (primarily from France) and American. TheFrench oak is more expensive than American and each type impartsslightly different characteristics in a finished wine. While new Frenchoak has been shown to contribute more solid extracts and phenol, theconcentration of vanillin was found to be higher in American oak. Thecompound that impacts vanillin levels has the highest impact on ourperception of an “oaky” impression. French oak is thought to createmore complexity in a finished wine and create a more subtle wine withsofter tannins (Jackson, 2000; Margalit, 2004).

New vs. refilled barrels. The amount of phenolic extraction drops offsubstantially between first and second filling of oak barrels. This situa-tion is particularly true with French oak. The expected barrel lifetime ofa 60 gallon French oak barrel is about 600 bottles (about 300 bottles fortwo vintages). Using French oak instead of American oak adds a cost ofabout $.90 per finished bottle of wine.

Oak components added to wine. Phenolics can be divided into twomain categories in regards to oak components that are added to a winestored in oak: nonvolatile and volatile phenolics. Basically nonvolatilephenolics are those that contribute astringency (tannin) to the wine thathas been stored in oak. There are several volatile oak phenolics; each

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contributing unique flavor characteristics to a finished wine. A mainvolatile phenolic is the one that contributes the vanillin aroma and fla-vor. Its concentration is determined by the toasting level. Another vola-tile phenolic known as eugenol contributes a spicy, clove-like flavor.This characteristic is mainly found in wine stored in untoasted barrels.A smoky flavor is derived from toasted barrels and the phenolic causingthis flavor is known as guaiacol (Jackson, 2000).

Oak Alternatives: Shortening the Time and Expense

Winemakers use a number of techniques to impart some of the char-acteristics of wine that has been aged in oak but at a lower cost. For in-stance, many experiment by immersing oak chips or oak dust into wine.This technique of ‘fast-aging’ is not illegal and does not require that thetechnique be specified as such on the wine label. The best way to deter-mine whether or not this process has been used is the price of the bottleof wine. The replacement of oak barrels with oak chips seems to par-tially fulfill the oak extraction function but the process does not replacethe oxidative one.

Other alternatives that are utilized are installing oak barrel “innerstaves”into stainless steel tanks or the creation of 60 gallon stainless steeldrums with replaceable interior oak staves. All of these methods lowerthe cost of oak aging for the producer and provide many of the tradi-tional oak aging characteristics in the finished wine (Jackson, 2000;Margalit, 2004).

Food and Wine Considerations

Wine that has undergone oak fermentation or aging creates severaldifferences from unoaked versions that may have a significant impacton the level of match with a food item. Following Harrington andHammond’s (2005) description of the three key elements categories forfood and wine pairing, I will discuss the impact on taste components,texture characteristics, and flavor elements.

Taste components include those elements distinguishable on thetongue and throughout the mouth such as sweet, sour, salt, and bitter.Oak aging has a tendency to reduce the acidity level in a finished winecompared to its unoaked counterpart. So, if you are planning on servinga white wine with a food item with quite a bit of sourness to it, you aregenerally better off selecting an unoaked version. A classic example isthe classic match of Chablis with oysters on the half shell. Chablis uses

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the Chardonnay grape, is unoaked and is grown in a cool climate regionproducing a crisp and mineral version that pairs perfectly with raw oys-ters. White Burgundies are also produced using the Chardonnay grapein a cool climate but generally undergo oak aging. While still a goodmatch for the oysters, it would not provide an ideal one as the Chablisdoes. This situation holds for other foods such as many salads, othermarinated foods, or foods (such as fish) that you want to add some re-freshment (higher acidity) to the combination (much like a squeeze oflemon).

Oak aging adds to the food and wine pairing match by adding addi-tional body to a finished wine. This addition relates to the second cate-gory of food and wine elements under the heading of texture. Texturefood elements include fattiness, cooking method and an overall feelingof body. Texture elements in wine include tannin, alcohol and overallsensations of body. The body-to-body match seems to be the primaryfactor supporting the old food and wine adage–red wine with meat andwhite wine with fish (Harrington & Hammond, 2006). The addition ofoak to a white wine can substantially increase the perception of body;here again, Chardonnay is a good example. Chardonnay can be thoughtof as the chicken of the wine world. As a food item, chicken lends itselfto numerous preparations ranging from very light (poached chickenbreast with herbs) to relatively robust (roasted with garlic, blackened,etc.). The same is true of a Chardonnay–it has very little varietals char-acter compared to other whites such as Riesling–and much the determi-nation of whether or not the finished wine will be light or full bodied isleft up to the winemaker. Of course, oak is not the only determinate ofbody in wine; others include alcohol level, tannin, sugars, and glycerol(Harrington, 2008; Jackson, 2000). But, a big, oaky Chardonnay fromCalifornia or Australia will be much more full-bodied than one fromOntario, Canada or Chablis, France–particularly if the latter is unoaked.

Finally, oak aging has a substantial impact on several flavor charac-teristics. Oak in wine will impact the aroma of the wine and theretro-nasal flavor characteristics or in-mouth smells that are perceived(Harrington, 2008). These flavors and aromas will provide opportuni-ties for matching using either a similarity or contrasting approach. Forinstance, a grilled piece of red snapper could be paired with an unoaked,crisp New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc for a refreshing contrast and a con-trast with the addition of herbaceous flavors from the wine. Alternately,you could select a Fume Blanc from California (the same grape as ear-lier) that has been oaked to create a similarity match between the smoki-ness of the grilled fish with that of the oaked wine. Further, the oaked

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wine will have more flavor intensity and persistency in general–althoughthis will have the opposite effect on the varietals characteristics (in thiscase, herbaceous or grassy flavors). This again will allow the wine tomaintain an equal footing with foods of greater intensity and persis-tency than unoaked versions of the same varietals or blend.

CONCLUSION

The use of oak in the process of wine fermentation and aging pro-vides the winemaker with many variables to manipulate in creating thedesired finished product. The decisions by the winemaker in this regardhave implications on food and wine pairing decisions, impacting thesensory areas of sight, smell, texture and flavor. In general, pairing oakaged wines with food requires food items that are generally fuller bod-ied and more intense. This is not a hard and fast rule but provides an ini-tial conceptualization for your food and wine toolkit.

REFERENCES

Boulton, R.B. (1996). Principles and Practices of Wine Making. NY: Chapman & Hall.Harrington, R.J. (2008). Food and Wine Pairing: A Sensory Experience. NY: John

Wiley & Sons.Harrington, R.J. & Hammond, R. (2006). Body deviation-from-match: The Yin and

Yang of wine and food pairing? Journal of Culinary Science & Technology, 5(1):51-69.

Harrington, R.J. & Hammond, R. (2005). Direct effects of wine and food characteris-tics on perceived match. Journal of Foodservice Business Research, 8(4): 37-54.

Immer, A. (2000). Great wine made simple: Straight talk from a master sommelier.New York: Broadway Books.

Jackson, R.S. (2000). Wine Science: Principles, Practice, Perception, 2nd ed. NewYork: Academic Press.

Margalit, Y. (2004). Concepts in Wine Technology. San Francisco, CA: The Wine Ap-preciation Guild, Ltd.

Peynaud, E. (1996). The taste of wine: The art and science of wine appreciation, 2nded. NY: John Wiley & Sons

Zoecklein, B.W. (1999). Wine Analysis and Production. NY: Kluwer Academic Pub-lishers.

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