Complex smell and taste that comes from ageing in oak casks or barrels. Should give the wine interest and character, but not be overly strong.

The wood most preferred in the making of barrels for its qualities of cooperability and flavor. American White Oak and French Oak are the most common forms used in wine barrels. The trees whose bark provides the soft porous wood used in natural corks are also oak.

Oak is used to make containers for storing and aging wine. Specific oak is used for small barrels to impart flavor and tannins to the wine. The newer the barrel, the more flavor it imparts. Oak is critical for making long lived red wines, and some whites. It can sometimes be over used to hide flavors or to make up for lackluster crops. Oak in wine should always be subtle, and in balance. Beware of any wine where the oak is the defining character. In larger containers, and older barrels, the oak does not impart much if any flavor, and so less expensive oak is used. There is a certain amount of air exchanged through the pores of a small oak barrel that can help to develop the aromas of the young wine (secondary aromas). Again, larger oak barrels do not let enough air in to greatly effect the volume of wine they hold.

The strongest and most durable wood that lasts for long periods in either wet or dry conditions.

Oak is the most popular of all wood used in furniture making. Oak is very tough, strong, and hard and can live up to the every day abuse furniture takes. Has a pronounced grain that is emphasized when quarter sawed. This is called a "cathedral" grain. Oak is somewhat difficult to work and therefore is used on simpler furniture styles.

Pale, hard and heavy timber that darkens to a rich brown with age and polishing. It was the main furniture-making wood during medieval times up until about c. 1660 — a period sometimes referred to as the Age of Oak. Oak furniture tends to be solid, heavy and simple in design. From the 1660s, the timber was mainly used for provincial furniture and for carcass work and drawer linings, but was again popular in the arts and crafts movement of the late 19thC.

A durable hardwood of importance in structural timbering. Joinery and furniture manufacture. Oak is usually varnished to retain its natural beauty.

The one wood in which wine can almost always be counted on to improve, oak is used for such small and medium sized containers as barrels, casks, pipes and the like. All the fine red wines of the world owe at least a little of their taste to the oak in which they've been aged.

Oak is the most popular of all hardwoods. It is well known for its beautiful grain patterns and extreme durability. Its many uses include furniture, hardwood flooring, and kitchen cabinets. It has very good sanding and finishing qualities. Oak is grown in northern portions of the Great Lakes states, northeastern U.S., and southern Canada.

A druid holy tree. The oak was the king of trees in the grove. Magick wands were made of its wood. Oak galls, sometimes called "Serpent Eggs", were used in magickal charms. Acorns gathered at night held the greatest fertility powers. The Druids and other magickal pracitioners listened to the rustling leaves and the wrens in the trees for divinatory messages.

the hard durable wood of any oak; used especially for furniture and flooring

a kind of tree

French, German and American oak used in the construction of wine barrels. Oak can impart extraordinary complex flavours in wine that is matured in oak barrels.

Wines are sometimes matured in oak barrel to add flavours and complexity

Hard wood with a prominent texture and grain; popular wood for country, casual, and Mission furniture. A light, golden color or stain

If you want to start a fight at a Winegeek confab, just ask 'How much Oak is good in a wine?' and stand back and watch the fur fly. Many premium wines are put into small oak barrels, or if you want to be fancy, 'barriques' for aging (and many not-so-premium wines have oak chips dunked in them like a teabag). This can impart nice, complex, toasty dark notes to the wine, or it can leave it smelling and tasting like the inside of your high school woodshop. The newer the oak barrel, the more flavor it will impart to the juice that is inside it. Anti-oak geeks say that oakiness is used to cover up weak fruit or bad winemaking, pro-oak geeks (see Beaver, Termite, Woodchuck) say that used as a spice, it adds depth and complexity. There are all kinds of oak (French, American, Slovenian... no, seriously, Slovenian), each with a slightly different set of flavors to impart. Everyone has a different tolerance level for degrees of oakiness; deep down we're all geeks--can't we all just get along

The wood used to make barrels for ageing whisky. The porosity allows a slow oxidation that is important for the whisky to develop smoothness and finesse. Spirits also extract tannin, colour, and flavour from the oak.

an important component, in the make up of fine wines. Oak casks or the 'barrick' is simply a wooden barrel made from one of several species of oak tree. Such names as limousin, vogues, american are well known to professional and amateur winemakers. In the well made wine it is present in a pleasently detectable manner, in the nose and palate. The wine extracts vanillins, syringaldehyde, and related phenolics derived from the lignin as it ages in the barrel. About 0.6-0.7% of the total weight of the dry wood can be extracted initially. A certain amount of oxidation also takes place as air passes through the staves of the barrel, thereby aiding the hydrolysis of lignin to release more of the fragrant substances during aging. One can mimmick this vanillin extraction by adding oak chips to wine stored in stainless steel or in glass. But the oxidization effect is lost because glass or steel does not allow air to pass freely in and out of the wine. However, too much of this component can become undesirable or off putting and can be hiding other flaws in the wine.

Any of a number of a variety of trees or shrubs that bear acorns as fruits. Oaks produce abundant pollen and are a major cause of allergies.

The most popular wood for constructing barrels. Oak imparts flavors and tannin to wines during the barrel aging process; home winemakers can also accomplish this by using oak chips or powder.

the most common sort of wood used for barrels. Usually either soft, sweetish American oak or tauter, more savoury French oak.

A veneer distinguished by its bold grain pattern and textured quality. Oak is a strong hardwood that ranges in color from light tan to deep brown, often displaying pinkish or yellow highlights. Abundantly available in the United States .

The number one choice for wine barrels (cherry has been and still is used) and used almost exclusively in the production of fine wines.

A strong, hard-wearing wood with a pronounced texture and grain that's emphasized when quarter sawn (see definition below). It is the most popular wood for country, casual and Mission furniture.

Hardwood used by framers wanting to hand-finish frames leaving the grain visible. The Victorians liked to finish oak in gold.

A durable open grained hardwood.

the one wood in which wine can be counted on to imporve and is used for small to medium containers such as barrels, casks, pipes

Wood used for the construction of barrels, it imparts flavors and tannin to wines during the barrel aging process.

A course-grained hardwood used extensively in flooring, furniture, and trim.

Hard, heavy wood species known for prominent, high-contrast grain patterns.

Oak's heartwood is pink to reddish brown, while the sapwood is a light gray. It is straight grained, with a characteristic silver grain in quarter sawn wood. White Oak is somewhat more figured than Red Oak. It is heavy, hard and strong, with outstanding wear-resistance. The heartwood is very durable, and steam bends very well.

This is the type of wood used in wine barrels used for aging. It's also the type of wood used in the chips that are immersed in many California chardonnays, to produce an oaky, vanilla flavor and aroma.

A fine-grained wood traditionally used in the barrel making proccess for its containment and flavoursome properties.

The oak is a sacred tree in witchcraft. (Technically, when you "knock on wood," it should be oak.) Thus, anything in the shape of an oak tree or a piece of oak itself is lucky.

This wine characteristic can be a little tricky, as it can be both a positive and negative one for tasting analysis. One reason is that each of us has a different level of preference and tolerance for oak. A well-oaked Chardonnay from California may have one person fighting the sensation of having just sucked on a stick of butter, while someone else might find the heavy oak very warm and inviting. However, too much oak can be a serious character flaw, and too little oak may not bring out the best character in a particular grape varietal.

An aroma and flavour given to wine by the barrel. Important and attractive as it is, it should not be strong enough to overwhelm the fruit

Wood used for barrels. Oaky refers to the flavours that using oak imparts to wine. Oak barrels can also give a vanilla flavour to wine.

The wood primarily used for aging of white and red wines, imparting a flavor to the wine when the barrel is new. Chestnut and walnut have also been used far less successfully.

A type of hardwood that has a natural reddish tone and a varied and wavy grain pattern. This also refers to the medium brown color used to stain wood.

Wines might be stored in oak containers, usually to impart extra and more complex flavours. French, American and German oak barrels are widely used in Australia, but are getting quite expensive as oak trees become scarcer.

Aromas and flavors contributed during barrel fermentation and/or aging such as vanilla, caramel, chocolate, smoke, spice or toast

Famous for its strength and durability. In general use for the making of furniture until the late 17th century. Subsequently its use was restricted to the carcase portions of fine veneered furniture, although it continues to be generally employed for simpler, country furniture.

any of various deciduous or evergreen trees or shrubs of the genus quercus, bearing acorns as fruit. oak is one of the strongest and most durable types of wood in the world. in many cultures, oak is regarded as a sacred tree, and symbolizes strength, courage, endurance, protection, faith, honesty and generosity of hospitality and spirit. with it's rich color and centuries of rings, oak is considered the king of the forest.

The oak tree is an important source of wood for barrels. Although other woods, such as cherry, have been (and still are used), oak is the number one choice for wine barrels. See my article on wine and oak for more information.

A pale brown hard, durable wood of course texture. Its hardness made it difficult to carve but quite durable. Oak has been very widely used in furniture up to the 17th century. Because of its heavy use in the 17th century, it has often been called the "oak period". Practically all Gothic work is of oak. It is the typical wood of all the Tudor and Jacobean styles in England, and the Early Renaissance in Flanders and Germany. After the 17th century, oak has been used more as a secondary wood.

Wines fermented and/or stored in oak barrels (from the wood genus quercus) gain extra flavour profiles and complexity. The more intense, sweet vanillin and coconutty flavours of American oak are well-suited to full flavoured red wines (particularly the Penfolds range); while the delicate vanilla, cedar and butterscotch characters of French oak integrate well with more elegant wine styles.

French and American oak barrels both contribute tannin and vanilla flavours to wines during aging. American oak has a distinctive, bourbon-like flavour and French oak flavour is more subtle. The degree of toasting (the oak staves are held over fires to bend them during the making of the barrel); whether the barrel is new or has been filled before; and the ageing time will all affect the oak's contribution to the wine.

Oak is a variety of the wood Genus Quercus. Wines are usually stored in oak containers, to impart extra and more complex flavours. French, American and German oak barrels are widely used in Australia, but are getting quite expensive as quality oak becomes scarcer.

A strong, hard, heavy wood.

A strong, hard, wood with accentuated texture and grain enhanced when quarter sawn. A popular wood for country, casual, Mission furniture and decorative structural elements.

preferred wood in which wine is aged … generally French oak and American oak but some wineries are now experimenting with Canadian oak.

Wines aged or fermented in oak barrels take on toasty qualities and flavors of butter and vanilla (for white wines), or coffee and tobacco (for red wines).