CONTAIN YOURSELF - THE DIFFERENT AGING VESSELS FOR WINE & WHAT THEY DO

What does oak do to a wine?

This is a question I’m asked a lot. By friends, family members, coworkers - heck I even remember being asked this question one time at my gynecologist’s office.

Sorry for the overshare.

Regardless - this is an important question. And for those who are learning about wine and more importantly - what wines work for them - understanding what different aging vessels do to the character of a wine is crucial. It’s crucial because it helps you figure out what you like. Pure and simple.

Wine is aged in many different vessels - from oak, to stainless steel, to amphorae, to plastic, and fiberglass. Without further ado, I’m going to break down some of the major aging vessels for wine and what flavors they impart so YOU can be armed with knowledge and know what type of wine you want to try the next time you decide to indulge in a bottle of vino.

AGING WINE IN OAK BARRELS

Oak barrels are probably some of the most expensive ways you can age your wine, and generally speaking the price point on your wine is going to go up if it’s aged in oak. The reason why people love oak aging is because it imparts these really toasty, brioche-y, caramelized flavors to your wine. If a red wine is aged in oak barrels, people often pick up on flavors like espresso, chocolate, mocha, cloves and spices. If a white wine is aged in oak barrels, people can get flavors of pie crust, marzipan, and baking spices. Sometimes I get marshmallow - but I’m weird.

NEUTRAL OAK OR NEW OAK?

The difference between neutral oak and new oak is simply the fact that the barrel has already been used to age a wine. Generally speaking, if a wine is aged in neutral oak, you’re probably going to get less of those spicy flavors this go-round. People tend to age their wines in neutral oak for more added weight and body to the wine.

If a wine is aged in new oak, that means no wine has been aged in it before. You’re more likely to get those really concentrated aromas of spices in the wine.

There are many different types of oak - French Oak, American Oak, Hungarian Oak, Slavonian Oak, the list goes on… They all impart different flavors. People toast them as well (basically burn out the inside) so those smoky and toasty flavors get imparted into the wine.

AGING WINE IN STAINLESS STEEL

Winemakers age wine in stainless steel for a variety of reasons. Stainless steel tanks are significantly more cost effective, easier to clean, and they don’t impart any additional flavors to the aging process going on inside. This means that wines aged in stainless steel often express the purity of fruit. There’s very much a distinctive clean sort of quality to these wines, and it’s nice because steel doesn’t interfere with any of the fermentation process.

Stainless steel allows all the chemical reactions to go off in tank without imparting any additional flavors. If you love purity of fruit, and the idea of terroir - which means a wine expressing a sense of place - you’ll probably gravitate to stainless steel wines.

As an aging vessel, stainless steel is perfectly neutral. The bonus of stainless steel is a lot of wines aged in stainless are probably going to be cheaper than the wines aged in those expensive oak barrels.

AGING WINE IN AMPHORAE

These are qveri, but the idea is similar to amphorae.

If you remember long ago I did an article on Orange Wine and we dove into the process of aging wine in amphorae and very special vessels called qveris. If not, I highly recommend taking a look and checking it out.

Amphorae have grown in popularity in recent years - I do believe a lot of this is due to the natural wine movement and the meteoric rise of the orange wine category. Amphorae are great because they are a gateway between oak and steel. Let me explain what I mean.

Amphorae do allow oxygen to go through and change the texture of the wine, they are porous like oak vessels. This gives the wine backbone, structure, and even some tannins. What they don’t do is impart any flavor to the wine whatsoever. Clay is considered the purest aging vessel for wine - and one of the oldest.

This is an ancient aging technique, as a lot of amphorae came out of Greece and Georgia, some of the oldest wine regions. Amphorae add a beautiful bit of complexity, body, yet manage to keep the fruit of the wine in tact.

AGING WINE IN CONCRETE

There was a period of time where clay amphorae were out of fashion and basically unheard of in Europe, which was the epicenter of the winemaking world for a long period of time. Enter concrete.

Concrete, like clay amphorae, is porous and allows for oxygen to aerate the wine. Yet it remains a neutral vessel, so the flavor of the wine is not altered. Concrete is considered to be the middle man of aging wine. If oak is on one end of the spectrum and steel is on the other, concrete would be dead center. A lot of concrete wines have a freshness and mineral driven quality to them.

AGING WINE IN PLASTIC

Some wines are aged in plastic tanks. I’ve found wines aged in plastic tend to be soft, velvety and smooth. I particularly love it when big strong tannic and intense varietals like Syrah or Petit Verdot are aged in plastic, because you can taste the quality of the fruit. There’s a roundness and supple velvety quality to these wines.

Plastic can be used to ferment wine or age it. I’ve seen a lot of winemakers ferment their wines in plastic vessels and age them in oak barrels. Plastic, like stainless steel, is an inexpensive option for aging wine.

FIBERGLASS, COWHIDES, & GARBAGE CANS - OH MY!

There are a lot of vessels winemakers can use to age their wines. It entirely depends on their financial needs and the desire they have in terms of how they want the wine to express itself.

I’ve heard of wines being aged in fiberglass in the Loire Valley, cowhides in Central Mexico, and garbage cans in Mount Etna! There are myriad vessels one can use to age wines. I hope this guide helps you figure out the flavor qualities YOU appreciate in a wine, and understand whenever you go to a restaurant, wine shop or what have you to ask the right questions about how the wine was aged. So you can get the best bang for you buck, of course!

PICK OF THE WEEK: 2020 Ovum “Old Love,” White Blend

If you want to talk about aging wine and the way different materials effect a wine’s characteristics - there is no better example than Old Love, a white blend by Ovum. When I was younger, I used to drink a lot of Ovum - but this amazing producer sort of fell off my radar. After trying this wine, I’m pretty sure Ovum wines are going to be a go-to in my rotation.

Ovum is a winery based out of Portland, Oregon that uses a mixture of concrete egg, amphorae, and Austrian Oak to age this wine. The wine is described as a, “method,” wine that was inspired by early winemaking in the 1800s in Austria. In this, “method,” the vineyards were harvested depending on their ripeness, acidity, and minerality then fermented together. After this, they were aged in a variety of different ways. This style produces a kick ass wine - which is why it’s being practiced over 200 years later.

For Old Love, the amphora gives this wine some structure, the Austrian oak adds a bit of complexity and aromatics, and the cement egg gives this wine its striking minerality.

This 2020 vintage is primarily Riesling — the Beyonce of Grapes of course. But what’s important about this wine is not the grape itself, it’s the vineyards it is sourced from. The 2020 is sourced from a grand whopping total of five vineyards planted throughout Oregon that all focus on sustainable farming. Aging this wine is absolutely critical to the unique identity of this wine. Once you pour it out of the glass, the first thing you’ll notice is the color. It’s literally like liquid freaking gold!

After I took a sip of this wine the first thought that came to my mind was, “Holy shit. Why did I ever stop drinking Ovum wines?!?!?!?” The first word I wrote in my tasting journal was just, “Woooooowwwwwwwww.” The aromas in this wine are simply off the charts. And you can expect bright tropical pineapple, petrol, lemons with a hint of sea salt and even some petrichor!

The nose on this wine was softer and more delicate than the raging symphony of flavors on the palate of this baby. But I definitely got blood orange, white Lilly, and kerosene. Picture slightly dirty white florals. If that’s your thing, you’ll fall in love with Old Love.

In terms of this wine’s body - it’s racy, airy, and brilliant. The purity of the fruit is absolutely astonishing, and once you try it you’ll understand why so many winemakers like to use amphorae to age their wines. There’s this stunning, high definition, multidimensionality that you just don’t get when you age wines any other way.

Ovum is selling this wine for $20.50 and honestly? It’s priced at a steal. If you freak over Riesling or just good wines in general - ORDER A COUPLE OF BOTTLES. You’ll thank me later, I promise.