Talk-A-Vino

It’s the weekend, and here comes our new wine quiz. This time, the theme is … Oak.

As you know, oak barrels are major part of winemaking – depending on desired style of the wine, winemaker will decide on what type  of the oak barrel should be used, should it be new barrel, old (previously used) barrel, American oak, French oak, how toasted the barrel should be and so on. I would roughly guess that about 80% of all the red wines and about 30% of all the white wines are made with the use of oak – if you know the exact stats, please share them in the comments section.

So below are the fine questions related to the use of the oak in the winemaking. Whether you can answer one, all five or none at all, your comment will be appreciated in any case.

Here we go.

Q1: True or false: American oak typically imparts stronger flavor than the french oak?

Q2: There are 5 major forests in France from which the oak is used in the wine making. Oak from which forest is considered least suitable for use with the wines and more used in production of the Cognac?

A. Allier

B. Never

C. Limousin

D. Troncais

E. Vosges

Q3: Troncais forest was planted by the order of Napoleon. Do you know what was the intended use of the oak trees from that forest?

Q4: True or False: The use of Oak chips is illegal in France?

Q5. True or False: When barrels are made from the trees in the same forest by the same cooperage, all the barrels will be identical and will impart flavor of the wine in the same way?

Bonus question: Which winery logo is shown on the barrel in the picture?

Have fun, good luck and enjoy the rest of your weekend! Cheers!