This week I wanted to tackle something that seems simple but can be a little confusing. When I first started getting into wine I was a little confused about this whole oak thing. I was being told that a bottle of wine was oaked or unoaked, and to be honest I really didn’t know what it meant. Although I think some of us understand what it means, we maybe don’t get the full difference between the two. So I decided that I would write a bit of a guide to the difference between oaked vs unoaked wine.
Whether you’ve been drinking wine for a while or are just starting to learn more about it, understanding the difference between oaked vs unoaked wine, and the impact of oak on wine, will help you choose wines that suit your taste!
What is the difference between oaked vs unoaked wine?
So what is an oaked wine? Well, this refers to a wine that has been kept in a barrel made of oak before it is bottled. These oak barrels are massive, expensive and used throughout the world in winemaking. Oak barrels can be made out of French, American or Hungarian oak, each giving the wine a distinct flavour. These barrels can also be scorched or reused to change the flavour again.
Unoaked wines are not aged in oak barrels, as you’d expect. These wines usually spend time in stainless steel containers. You can also have wines that are ‘oaked’ but they are aged in stainless steel with oak chips or powder added. You’ll find this a lot in mass-produced wines as oak barrels are expensive and do not carry as much volume. But nothing beats the real deal! The barrel is more than just a storage solution. Time in oak impacts the flavour, smell, age and quality of the wine it holds.
You’ll find most red wines will spend some time in oak, and there are also several white wines as well. The main reason for this is to improve the flavour of the wine. Wines that are unoaked type like the pure grape, but oaked wines have additional complexities. It will help to soften the acidity, enhance colour and change the taste. This is why sometimes unoaked wines are labelled as ‘natural’ because you are tasting the wine without influence from oak on the flavour.
What does oak do to wine?
Whether you prefer oaked or unoaked wines, putting wine in oak does impact the wine in many ways. Some of them include:
- Enhanced colour of the wine
- Softening and rounding out of flavours
- Adding tannins to the wine, meaning the wine has more age potential and it tastes drier when young
- Add aromas and flavours to the wine
- Thickens the wine as barrels are not airtight, so some of the water in the wine evaporates
Because of how much the oak impacts the wine, winemakers need to carefully decide how long they want the wine to be in oak, the type of oak they use, and whether they use new barrels or reuse them.
Impacts on the flavour of wine
So the biggest impact of oak on wine is in the flavour, but what does this mean for your beverage? Oak has a taste compound which tastes like vanilla. So when a wine sits in oak, the flavour transfers from the wood into the wine and gives it complex additional flavours. In an oaked wine, you’ll experience vanilla, toast, cedar, spice and coffee. These flavours marry with the acidity and fruity flavours in the wine, creating layers on top of fruity wine.
However, sometimes wines can be overoaked. If a wine sits too long in the barrel, or too much volume of wood chips are used, the wine will lose balance. A wine without a good balance between oak and fruit flavours will sort of taste like liquid butter. No one wants this in their wine! This is why balance is key, just like with Goldilocks and her porridge. Winemakers will sometimes use older barrels or barrels that have been scorched to combat this and change the flavours further.
It’s for this reason that some say that unoaked wines are more pure and delicate. The stainless steel vessels don’t impart a flavour, so you are tasting the natural fruit flavours. These wines have more acidity, are fresher in flavour, and have much fruitier notes direct from the grape. They also tend to have a lighter body than a wine oaked in a barrel.
Want to test out what you prefer? The best variety to try is Chardonnay. An oaked Chardonnay will taste buttery and have a much deeper colour. An unoaked Chardonnay will be light, fresh and fruity.
How do you know if a wine has been in oak?
So how do you tell if a wine has been oaked? Well, the first general rule is that most reds will spend time in oak. This rounds out flavours and increases the complexity of the wine.
When a wine has been in oak, it will impact the flavour and colour of the wine. For example, the longer a white wine sits in oak, the darker yellow it becomes. Colour is not impacted as much when it comes to red wine, but it will still be darker in colour the longer it sits in oak. The wine will usually also feel thicker in the mouth when it is oaked.
The aroma is an easy way to tell whether a wine has been oaked. In whites, you’ll get notes of nuts, smoke or vanilla. For reds, look for smoke, black pepper and cocoa.
The other way to tell is the flavour. If the wine tastes like vanilla, coffee, spice, caramel or honey, the wine has usually been oaked. This is impacted by the type of wine and the type of oak being used, as well as whether it is an old or new barrel. Red wines will also be more tannic if they’ve had a lot of time in oak, giving a dry mouthfeel. A wine that has been unoaked won’t have these flavours!
If all else fails, generally it will say on the bottle when a wine has been oaked. So you can always fall back on this!
Which will you prefer?
There is no right answer when it comes to oaked vs unoaked wine. It all comes down to personal preference! Although oaked wines tend to be more expensive, you’ll get complex flavours, more tannin and less acidity. You can also age oaked wines for longer. If this sounds like your bag, then oaked wines are for you! But if you prefer more acidic, fresh wines with fruity flavours, you might be more in the market for an unoaked wine. It really comes down to your own tastes!
It also can change from wine to wine. So I recommend giving a few a go! You’ll learn pretty quickly what your preferences are from trying oaked vs unoaked wines. Then you’ll be able to buy something that truly matches your taste!