Throughout the grape growing and winemaking process, there are many choices for a grower and/or winemaker to make. Often you will see these terms on labels or on tasting notes for the wine. Knowing the basics of what each term refers to can be helpful. It can help you to choose the better wine for your taste and for the occasion. 

Some of the winemaking terms that you may find when reading labels are:

Unoaked

This is a style of winemaking that is all about preserving freshness and fruitiness. Many white wines made in this style are easy to find. The wines generally ferment in cool stainless steel tanks and are lighter in style. 

These wines will not spend any time in oak barrels. The winemaker will not use any oak in the process. That is not to say though that it is only stainless steel that is used. A winemaker may use other vessels such as concrete or terracotta for instance. These wines may have some time on lees to add some complexity and fleshiness.

To read more about lees, please read What are Lees?

Barrel matured

There is no secret that many red wines spend some time maturing in oak barrels. Some white wines also spend time maturing in oak barrels. This gives the wines some additional spice flavours, such as vanilla, nutmeg and cinnamon. How much time the wine spends in oak and the type of oak is key. So too, is how much of wine spends time in oak and how old the barrels are. 

For instance, you might see on a label that a wine spends time in ‘old oak’. Or seasoned oak. This means that barrel has been used for the previous vintage. These barrels don’t add as much spiciness to the wine. Instead, they will allow the wine to round out, soften the acid and develop character with less oak influence.  That time in barrel can add to the silky texture of the wine as well. 

In red wines, the time spent in oak barrels, new or old, will allow the tannins to soften. The maturation in barrels allow tannins to become smooth. This also may be largely due to the contact with the oxygen that is within that barrel. 

Carefully chosen

You also might see that a wine has only had a small portion of that vintage matured in oak. This way the wine maker can choose how much of the wine takes on oak character. Often these wines will retain their fresh fruitiness with a lighter spice profile. 

The winemaker crafts their wine carefully to get the best out of their grapes. Oak may feature here, occasionally it will not. 

Barrel ferment and malolactic fermentation

It is not uncommon for fine wines to ferment in barrels for additional texture and added aroma and flavour too. Either for the primary fermentation or to undergo malolactic fermentation. Malolactic fermentation is a different fermentation compared to the primary ferment. It can happen in both red or white wines. Although, it is perhaps more noticeable in white wines than in red wines.  

For instance, malolactic fermentation gives Chardonnay a buttery character and will soften the acid. The softer acid rounds out the wine on the palate. A winemaker may choose to let the Chardonnay undergo a partial malolactic ferment. 

However, just using a barrel for the primary fermentation will give a white wine some spiciness. In addition, it may give some toastiness depending on the age of the barrel. The wine takes aroma and flavours from the barrel as it ferments. Particularly if the oak barrels are new or only used once. However, often these new barrels will deliver too much character and so will not be used for fermenting Chardonnay. 

So expect a barrel fermented Chardonnay to have more roundness in the mouth than a stainless steel counterpart. 

Battonage

Furthermore, as well as time in a barrel, you may see ‘lees stirring’ on a label of bottle of white wine. Especially in for a Chardonnay wine. Alternatively, you may see the French term for it - ‘battonage’. The terms ‘lees’ refers to the dead yeast cells from the wine’s ferment. To find out more about lees and how lees can impact a wine, please read  'What are Lees?'.

Lees stirring doesn't just happen in a stainless steel tank. It also can be done while the wine is in a barrel. Interestingly, the convection action inside a concrete egg means that a wine fermenting in that egg under goes constant movement. As the yeast dies off, this will mean the wine gets that battonage effect naturally.

A white wine that undergoes battonage will have an extra layer of silky texture.  There will be also some creamy flavours, aromas and texture. Plus there might be an additional spicy character in the wine such as ginger. White wines that ferment in a concrete egg may have an extra creaminess due to the lees movement in the egg.

Indigenous yeast

Another term you might find on the label of wine is referring to ferment by ‘indigenous yeast’. Typically, the fermentation process of grapes into wine happens with a yeast specific to the winemaker’s needs. The winemaker will generally purchase a yeast culture that will reliably ferment a grape must into wine. Different strains of yeast will perform differently in each situation. 

The alternative to purchasing yeast strains is the indigenous yeast option. This may be the yeast that has settled in the winery due to past use. This may be the yeasts that are on the skins of the grapes as they come from the vineyard. These yeasts might give different results than expected and may not perform reliably.

Sometimes there may be a funky character in the wine compared to when a cultured yeast is used. It is up to the winemaker to make this choice depending on what characteristics they aim for in their wine. 

What is minimum intervention?

Often a winemaker will choose to use indigenous yeast because they have found the yeast gives excellent results. They might choose that yeast also because they wish to produce a minimal intervention wine. Minimal intervention wines literally mean a wine that the winemaker chooses to do very little to. Instead, the winemaker wishes to allow the terroir and the conditions for the region to shape the wine. In other words, the wine will do it’s own thing to a certain extent without the winemaker’s control. 

Minimum intervention choices may also cover decisions such as maturation, fermentation vessels and vineyard condition choices. Minimum intervention can also cover whether Sulphur is added at any stage of the wine’s life. (also read Sulphite in wine. The Truth:  Are sulphur-free wines any good?). Another style of minimum intervention wine is the sparkling wine style of  Petillant Naturel. 

To find out more about minimum intervention wines, you could also read ‘I always thought that wines was a ‘natural’ product…’ and ‘Organic vs Sustainable vs Biodynamic.’