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Oak and health?
If wine were marketed like fast-food hamburgers, the most common question in the wine shop or restaurant might just be, "Would you like oak with that?" The sweet, spicy and aromatic character that oak imparts to wine has created a booming market that might threaten to decimate virgin forests in wine-producing regions. Based on his ratings, the critic Robert M. Parker Jr. appears to love the stuff; and so, it seems, do the tasters at Wine Spectator magazine. Most of us, I think, don't object to a taste of oak to round out the fruit flavors and fill the gaps to produce a balanced and complex wine. There's a good reason why many of the world's best wines spend time maturing in oaken casks, and why many wines labeled "reserve" are set apart from their brethren because of the extra time they spend aging in oak. For a while there, though, it seemed that critical enthusiasm, and mass-market tastes, were inspiring some producers to use barrels (or an industrial short-cut, oak chips added to wine in vats) to create a beverage that tasted more like wood juice with grapes in it than the other way around. By the 1990s, the near-universal dominance of oak in Chardonnay led some wine enthusiasts to abandon the grape entirely, marching under the banner "ABC" ("Anything But Chardonnay"). Oak certainly wasn't limited to Chardonnay, though, or to white wines; its spicy signature became commonplace in wines ranging from Australian Shiraz to California Cabernet, and even began turning up in "international-style" wines from Europe, seemingly made intentionally to capture high ratings points from American reviewers. Happily, some balance seems to be returning nowadays, as more producers - and wine lovers - recognize the wisdom in the phrase coined by Boston wine merchant Richard Eccleston: "Oak should be a spice, not a sauce." A recent news item, however, may give oak new life. In a snippet titled "Oak Barrels May Sweeten Red Wine's Anti-Cancer Potential," Scientific American reports on a study in today's issue of the German journal Angewandte Chemie International ("Applied Chemistry International") suggesting that the oak component in red wines may help protect against cancer in humans. This echoes earlier publicity about "The French Paradox," the supposition that French people may enjoy good heart health in spite of a fatty diet because they consume red wine regularly. Wide publicity about this effect a decade ago resurrected what had been a shrinking market for red wine, a boost that has persisted to this day and shows no signs of abating. "The putative health benefits of red wine stem mainly from so-called polyphenol molecules that are known for their antioxidant activity," Scientific American reports. Now, it says, researcher Stéphane Quideau and colleagues at the European Institute of Chemistry and Biology in France have found two polyphenols in red wine that can potentially react with oak barrels to form Acutissimin A, a potent anti-tumor compound. Wine stored in oak seems to "extract a whole bouquet of substances" from the barrels, Quideau said, adding that researchers found two types of Acutissimin compounds in red wine that had been aged for 18 months in oak. Researchers said that Acutissimin A seems to inhibit an enzyme that is a target for cancer treatment; in "in vitro" studies, it was 250 times more powerful than a clinically used cancer drug. These findings offer intriguing grist for speculation, but the researchers cautioned that it is far too early to leap to the conclusion that red wine prevents cancer. Indeed, although the article didn't mention it, other studies have shown a slight increase in breast cancer among women who consume wine.
The full Scientific American article is online at
The current issue of Angewandte Chemie International is online in English at
TELL US WHAT YOU THINK If you prefer to comment privately, feel free to send me E-mail at wine@wineloverspage.com. I'm sorry that the overwhelming amount of mail I receive makes it tough to respond personally every time, but I do try to get back to as many as I can. Now, for today's tasting reports, a quick look at a couple of Australian reds in which oak is a distinct presence if not their defining character. 
RockBare 2002 McLaren Vale South Australia Shiraz ($12.99)
This inky dark-ruby wine shows typical Shiraz black-fruit aromas with a "dusty" note; shy blueberry scents emerge with swirling and time in the glass. Plummy and warm on the palate, with a distinct edge of oak that doesn't quite integrate with the fruit; still, it's a full-bodied red and a good quaff. U.S. importer: Click Imports, Sseattle. (Nov. 7, 2003) FOOD MATCH: Hearty braised lamb shanks stand up well to the wine's robust fruit and oak. VALUE: Reasonably priced against the competition in the mid-teens. WHEN TO DRINK: Although it's not a candidate for long-term aging, it should hold up well for a few years.
WEB LINK: Visit the Click Imports Website at
FIND THIS WINE ONLINE: Locate vendors for RockBare on Wine-Searcher.com: 
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RedDust 2001 South Eastern Australia Cabernet Sauvignon-Shiraz ($10)
This oak-accented blend of 60 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and 40 percent Shiraz shows a very dark garnet color in the glass. Good plummy fruit aromas gain interest from notes of dark chocolate and spice, inviting a taste. It's ripe and smooth in flavor, with a distinctly oaky element becomes evident on the mid-palate. Easy drinking if a bit on the simple side, it's a crowd-pleaser. U.S. importer: HB Wine Merchants, NYC. (Dec. 14, 2003) FOOD MATCH: Went well enough with a lightly spicy Indian vegetarian dish, "Pachadi," a blend of brown rice, lentils and bulghur with green chilies and lots of veggies; on a carnivorous bill of fare it would go well with any red meat. VALUE: If you like Shiraz in the fruity-oaky style, it's hard to argue with a $9 price tag. WHEN TO DRINK: Should hold for a while on the wine rack, but I don't see it getting better with age.
FINDING THE WINE: I'm told that Red Dust Winery is a label produced in the Adelaide Hills as an American/Australian joint venture by Australian importer Hugh Matthews, but the wine appears to be difficult to find outside a few limited markets. HB Wine Merchants is a small importer, with no Website; much of its portfolio seems to be imported primarily for the large Liquor Barn stores in Louisville and Lexington, Ky. RedDust currently gets no "hits" at Wine-Searcher.com. 
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Red or white wine only? No problem! Gifts can arrive monthly, bi-monthly or even quarterly. Visit their website for special holiday discounts: New, quick and affordable: Zap your text message on The Wine Advisor As I frequently point out to those of you in the wine business, there is no quicker, better or more efficient way to deliver a wine-related message to wine lovers around the world than an advertising "sponsorship" on WineLoversPage.com. Now we're introducing a low-cost, high-impact alternative that makes it easy even for small wine-related businesses with limited advertising budgets to reach our international audience of wine-savvy readers with a simple, discreet and affordable text message in The 30 Second Wine Advisor. It's just about as quick as tapping out an instant text message on your mobile phone, and not a whole lot more expensive. For more information, or to reserve space while it's available, write me today at wine@wineloverspage.com. This week on WineLoversPage.com Here are links to some of our recently published articles and features that I hope you'll enjoy:
• Nat Decants: A Glass Act
• Burgundy of the Week: Dampt 2002 Chablis
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• Wine Lovers' Discussion Group: Wine as art Last Week's Wine Advisor Index The Wine Advisor's daily edition is usually distributed on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays (and, for those who subscribe, the FoodLetter on Thursdays). Here's the index to last week's columns:
• Cremant de Bourgogne (Dec. 12, 2003)
• Sending back wine (Dec. 10, 2003)
• About the "punt" (Dec. 8, 2003)
• Complete 30 Second Wine Advisor archive:
• Wine Advisor FoodLetter: Pane casalinga (Dec. 11, 2003)
• Wine Advisor Foodletter archive: Administrivia To subscribe or unsubscribe from The 30 Second Wine Advisor, change your E-mail address, or for any other administrative matters, please use the individualized hotlink found at the end of your E-mail edition. If this is not practical, contact me by E-mail at wine@wineloverspage.com, including the exact E-mail address that you used when you subscribed, so I can find your record. We do not use our E-mail list for any other purpose and will never give or sell your name or E-mail address to anyone. I welcome feedback, suggestions, and ideas for future columns. To contact me, please send E-mail to wine@wineloverspage.com All the wine-tasting reports posted here are consumer-oriented. In order to maintain objectivity and avoid conflicts of interest, I purchase all the wines I rate at my own expense in retail stores and accept no samples, gifts or other gratuities from the wine industry.
Monday, Dec. 15, 2003 |
