98 Chat. St. Jean SB, La Petite Etoile, Foul or Fabulous?

[Randy Caparoso]

We've had this argument before, gentlemen, and I will not cringe from it. Oak, and barrel fermentation, are not in themselves bad. In fact, it can vastly improve a wine like, say, a Kistler or ABC Chardonnay. For our own restaurants, we happen to 100% French oak barrel ferment our Oregon grown Pinot Gris. But I promise you -- you do not taste "oak" in the wine, but just the smooth, creamy, well rounded taste that you would never get if you just stainless steel fermented the sucker.

Of course, I am totally in agreement that many wines which see oak are much worse for it. In those cases, oak is bad, bad, bad. But let's not throw the baby out with the bath water. There are too many white wines which are greatly enhanced by the process -- in respect to pure drinking as well as in respect to food affinities. So let's just talk specifics, since blanket statements are just as apt to be in error.

Finally, as for Scoop's tasting results: the fact that the group preferred the well oaked wines should tell you something about why many commercial grade wines are done like that. Winemakers aren't stupid -- they know what the public wants. However, far be it for anyone else -- "experts," critics or otherwise -- to tell the public what they "should" be drinking, and what they "should" like.

The vast majority of consumers never, never read -- and so are not influenced by what is written -- about wine. They just know what they like.

Silver Oak's Justin Meyer always contended that there was always one way to tell which is the "best" wine in any large tasting. All he had to do was look to see which bottles were the emptiest. If the Silver Oaks were the emptiest, he then knew he was on the right track. It took a few years for the critics and so-called experts to catch up with Meyer, but he never really cared whether they did or not. Since as far as he's concerned, he was always the one making the greatest wine!


[This message has been edited by Randy Caparoso (edited 03-27-2000).]