Drink This Now Lesson 4: Oak on Wine

For this Month's Drink This Now lesson, I chose Lesson 4: Got Wood? The influence of Oak on Wine. The purpose of this assignment is to determine how aging wine in oak barrels effects the flavor. I started out this assignment by going to Vintage Cellar in Blacksburg to select two Chardonnay's: One aged in a metal cask, and one aged in a oak barrel. Vintage Cellar did not have the wines listed in the book, but Randall recommended Foxglove Chardonnay (Vintage 2019), and Butter Chardonnay (Vintage 2023) as good substitutes for unoaked and oaked Chardonnay respectively. Both of these wines are from California, and I spent around $20.00 each on both of these bottles.

First, I opened each bottle and poured a glass of each, while still at room temperature. The first one I decided to try was the Foxglove. It had a more fruity smell, with notes of crispness and golden delicious. The taste had a bit of an apple flavor and was also nutty. This wine had a lighter body, with a relatively watery mouthfeel. Next I tried the Butter Chardonnay. This wine had a woody, toasty aroma, with hints of vanilla. Unsurprisingly, when I tasted it, it had a very buttery taste. This wine had a heavier body compared to the Foxglove. The two wines were very similar in color, I was unable to discern a difference.

 

  

After tasting the wines at room temperature, I then proceeded to chill them for about an hour. After letting the wines chill, I repeated the tasting. The Foxglove had the same aroma notes and tastes as before, but I did notice the aromas and flavors were much more pronounced when served chilled. Same with the Butter Chardonnay, the aromas and flavors were more pronounced, but I also additionally smelled a smokey aroma in the Butter Chardonnay after chilling. I definitely prefer these wines after chilling them, it allows the flavors to be more pronounced and really expressed the wines more. I think this experiment would be interesting to attempt again with Chardonnay's from different regions, perhaps with French or Australian Chardonnay's. I really enjoyed this lesson because it allowed me to really get a feel for just how much of a difference oak barrel aging can make on wine.