What is the purpose of using oak barrels for wine maturity?

Regulate temperature
Winemakers add sugar if they want their wine to have more alcohol content during fermentation including Pinot noir and Chardonnay for sparkling wines. They can also regulate the temperature at which fermentation takes place so they can create more fruity or higher alcohol contents.
Since yeast are not able to metabolize ethanol (burned grain spirit) above 18-19%, winemaker will add sugar during bottling processes after the fermentation in order to add extra alcohol up to 9% before packaging.
Oak barrels
Winemakers use oak barrels that are made of French, American or Hungarian oak grown chestnut trees (“Quercus Petraea”) between 90 – 120 years old once they reach maturity around 25years of age. This wood is then used either new, second hand (previously used for other wines) or recycled into its second life.
It takes about three to six years for wineries to reuse oak barrels after first use when it allows wine to have a more intense color, greater body and tannin complexity. However, the longer it is used after first use, the less “woody” flavour that wines take from them which helps create light coloured fruits in white wines for example.
Weather conditions
Wine grapes are very sensitive to weather conditions throughout the seasons with spring (March- May) being crucial since early bud break combined with flowering coincides with possible late frosts or rains followed by summer heat spells that can cause rot or mildew to develop on vines. The science of fermentation is very important to winemakers in order to control the wine’s alcohol content!
Organic wine growersare required to cultivate their grapes without the use of chemicals in order to maintain a natural agricultural environment for growing wine grapes. They do not use any additives such as enzymes, yeast or mild strains that many organic wineries often claim increases quality and aromas by preserving freshness with no artificial flavours added.
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