Of all the problems associated with imparting the aromatics of oak to wine, the cost (in terms of raw materials and time) is the one that frustrates winemakers and their accountants the most. It’s not so much a problem for a $200 bottle of wine. But for a mass-market wine in the competitive $10-a-bottle category, oak barrels at $1,000 a pop along with cellaring for six to 24 months simply isn’t an option. A partial solution some wineries have resorted to is the use of oak chip “tea bags,” which addresses the financial cost of barrels but doesn’t fully solve the issue of time: Even oak chips need time to percolate through the vat.
There may be a solution on the horizon in the form of wood-infused lees. In a study published in Food Chemistry in March, a group of researchers from the Enology Lab at the Polytechnic University of Madrid have essentially taken lees, the sedimentary dead yeast cells leftover after fermentation, and steeped them in a sort of “tea” made from various wood chips: oak, acacia, chestnut and cherry for the purposes of this test. The “aromatized yeast biomass” was then washed, dehydrated, added to test batches of Tempranillo wine and allowed to do its thing for a month.
The results were promising: Through sensory analysis (man) and chromatography (machine) the wines were proven to have received levels of phenolic and volatile compounds associated with the more expensive and lengthier process of barrel aging. Sensorial analysis identified marked increases in wood (obviously), ripe and fresh fruit notes, smoke, mouthfeel, balance and even acidity. Conversely, bitterness was reduced in the wood-infused samples. In short, all the things one typically tries to impart to wine by way of barrel aging. Check out the entire selection of Skolnik Stainless Steel Wine Barrels here.