Free The Wine Savant: A Guide to the New Wine Culture by Michael Steinberger Page A

heighten the influence of the wood.
    The oak issue has been one of the biggest dividing lines in wine. In the Piedmont region of Italy, for instance, a spirited, sometimes acrimonious debate has raged over the past two decades between so-called modernist producers and more traditional winemakers, and the use of new oak has been at the center of it. The modernists age their Barolos and Barbarescos in new French oak barrels rather than the large Slovenian oak casks that have customarily been used for these Nebbiolo-based wines. Most critics seem to like the new oak influence, but many Nebbiolo aficionados deplore it. Likewise, oak has figured prominently in the recent history of Spain’s Rioja region. Riojas were traditionally aged in American oak, but in recent years most Rioja producers have switched to French oak. In fact, only a couple of producers are still making traditional Riojas, much to the chagrin of some wine enthusiasts, myself among them.
    New oak, applied judiciously, can add complexity to a wine without being obtrusive. Burgundy’s Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, for instance, uses new oak for almost all its wines, but the oak influence is remarkably discreet. With other wines it is not nearly so subtle—the oak dominates the aroma, and the wood tannins can leave you feeling like you’ve got splinters in your tongue. A lot of California Cabernets and Merlots wear their oak heavily, as do some newer-style Bordeaux. Parker has lavished huge praise on many of these wines, and while he would surely dispute the idea that he is drawn to new oak flavors, he clearly doesn’t mind them. His fondness for these oaky wines has led many producers to ratchet up their use of new wood. However, this trend can’t be attributed solely to Parker’s influence. It seems a lot of consumers enjoy oakiness, too, which is why you find a number of mass-market producers using oak chips in their wines—a cheaper method than buying expensive barrels, and one that also imparts a strong oak influence.
    The good news, if you are not a fan of oaky wines, is that more and more producers seem to be backing off on the oak. Partly it’s an economic decision: new oak barrels are expensive, and with the economy still recovering and wine buyers being more selective and budget-minded, it’s hard to pass that cost along to consumers. But it’s also aesthetic: more people are gravitating to wines that are made with a lighter touch in the cellar, to wines that show the influence of the vineyard more than the influence of the barrel, and a growing number of producers no longer feel so pressured to cater to the predilections of oak-happy critics. Oak barrels will undoubtedly remain a staple in many wine regions, but they may not be quite as pervasive as they were before.
    A LCOHOL
    Wine wouldn’t be wine without the alcohol, and the buzz it delivers is part of the pleasure. But alcohol levels have been climbing, much to the chagrin of some oenophiles, who find higher-octane wines overbearing and exhausting to drink. Fermentation converts the sugar in grapes into alcohol. Sugar is a function of ripeness, and the more sugar there is in the grapes, the more alcohol you end up with in the wine. Alcohol, in addition to getting you mellow, adds body, texture, and a perception of sweetness to wines, and as the alcohol content increases, wines become thicker, heavier, and sweeter. Grapes such as Zinfandel and Grenache naturally yield wines that are fairly high in alcohol, as do warmer regions like the southern Rhône and the Barossa Valley. But alcohol levels have been rising in a number of places, such as Bordeaux, that historically have produced restrained, modestly alcoholic wines, threatening the character of the local wines.
    California has become the main flash point in the debate over alcohol. Visit any wine shop and you’ll quickly see why: the shelves are groaning with California wines in excess of 14 or