Article: Waiter, there's a tree in my wine.(A Winemaker's Journal)

You're at a wine reception and someone nearby takes a sip of Cabernet and stuffily declares the wine "over oaked." Others disagree, countering that they like the wine's oaky character, praising the flavors of toast and coconut. A skirmish of know-it-alls ensues.

Meanwhile you're still stuck on the idea of oak in wine. Sure, wine ages in oak barrels, but how exactly is one "affected by the other? You certainly don't see acorns floating in your glass ...

To find that tree (apparently submerged) in your Cabernet, we have to take a trip to a forest. We'll start in France, where some of the better known areas for oak are Allier, Troncais, Never and Limousin.

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