Session 5: Oak and Quality

Oak and Quality

This wine smells like toast! Wines were stored and sold in barrels for millennia before the era of glass bottles. Now that oak barrels aren’t needed any more, and given that a barrel can cost hundreds of pounds – why do winemakers bother?

Join us this week to explore the world of oak: which wines are typically oaked, what effect this has on the wine, and even the difference between different types of oak. We will also learn about varying quality levels of wine and what makes a high-quality wine. Beginners welcome!

This week’s session will be led by Victoria Phan, winner of the Top Taster award in the 2024 Oxford–Cambridge Blind Tasting Varsity Competition, and international wine tasting competitor.

We will be providing six white and six red wines for the tasting.

We ask that you please aim to arrive 10-15 minutes before the session begins so that we can begin pouring immediately.

Tasting glasses: For this and future sessions, we ask that you please bring your own set of SIX tasting glasses.  We will not be providing tasting glasses for our remaining sessions. Glasses are available to buy on our website here. If you are attending our Bankers session on Sunday, please order your glasses when you purchase your ticket.  You will be able to collect your glasses at the next tasting that you attend (Sunday onward). In addition, you are welcome to purchase a CUBWTS carry bag here.

CUBWTS tasting guide: Our Tasting Guide, which is a phenomenal reference if you wish to learn more about blind tasting, is also available for purchase on our website here. It goes through a huge number of grape varieties and their identifiable features (including all the bankers) – an invaluable source of information!  We highly recommend purchasing one if you’re interested in trialling and competing.