Everyone knows that smoking is bad for your health. And most non-smokers can't stand the smell of tobacco smoke. Yet most carnivorous, non-vegans drool over the aroma and flavor of smoke from grilled meats, smoked fish, smoked sausage, bacon, cheese and on and on. Believe it or not, a number of wines smell of smoke. The smoke aroma does not originate from the grape, nor from the soil or climate.
Smoke comes from one place - something burning.
And that something burning is charred, toasted wood. Barrels, to be precise. Wood barrels must be charred on the inside to generate the aroma and flavor of toast and charred wood. Generally speaking, wood fermented and aged wines cost considerably more than non-wooded wines. Barrels cost a bundle and you can bet that the cost is passed along to the consumer.