Toasty
Definition - What does Toasty mean?
Toasty is an adjective used to describe a wine with toast-like nuances in its bouquet and on the finish. It is a description indicative that the wine was aged in oak barrels, specifically barrels with a medium toast. On the nose, it is often noted as a secondary aroma, and on the palate, it is a tertiary aroma.
WineFrog explains Toasty
A "toasty" wine is one which has been aged in oak barrels and sometimes with oak staves. Depending on the toast level of the oak, it can impart nuances similar to toasted bread into the wine.
The role of oak barrels and even its substitutes, like oak staves, are important in how the wine ages and will further age once it is bottled. Oak barrels allow for a controlled level of micro-oxygenation. The structure of the oak also imparts certain flavonoids and structure into the wine. These flavonoids from oak are able to bind with the alcohol and thus, remain in the wine throughout its lifetime and can present themselves as varying aromas from toasted coconut, pencil shavings, vanilla, smoke, etc.
