What oak really does

Glossary

Terms that have earned their place

Cooperage

The craft and system of producing barrels and other wooden vessels.

Toasting

Heating barrel staves to alter wood chemistry and the compounds available for extraction.

Oak lactone

An oak-derived aroma compound family often associated with woody or coconut-like possibilities.

Oxygen transfer

The controlled movement of oxygen through or around a vessel into wine over time.

Matrix

The rest of the wine—water, ethanol, sugar, acids, phenolics, and other compounds—that can change release and perception.