Wine Barrel History | Paso Wine Barrels Wine Barrel History Since our business is the beautification of old, used wine barrels, I thought it would be interesting to know some history on just how, when and where the old wooden wine casks started. Amphora was used for wine before wooden cask came along. Early accounts show there is not an exact time the wooden barrel began to be used but history indicates that it goes back to the era of the Roman Empire. Before that time, the common container for storage, fermentation and aging was the Amphora. The Amphora dates back to the Lithos’ (new stone-age) era and were ceramic vases of various sizes, with handles on a narrow neck which stood about two to four feet from the floor usually next to a table. Larger Amphoras could hold about 100 pounds of liquid, usually wine. Sealed with pine resin, they were commonly painted with beautiful colors, sometimes by famous artists and painters. The vessels were generally owned by the elite. History reads that Herodotus used palm-wood casks to ship Armenian wine to Babylon in Mesopotamia but the barrel as we know it today was most likely developed by the Celts.

Their technique of bending planks through heating, in the process of making hulls for boats, evolved into a method of building wooden barrels. It seems the shape of the barrel, a cylinder, fat in the center and drawn in on the ends with flat top and bottom aided in moving heavy items due to leverage. 18th Century cooperage Wooden barrels for wine making are made of either French common oak, White oak or American white oak. Generally there are two sizes: “Bordeaux type “at 59 US gallons (225 liters) and “Cognac type” at 79 US gallons (300 liters). The maker of wooden barrels is called a cooper and the plant is called a cooperage. The history of the wooden barrel seems to be based on transportation; however, the primary importance of the cask today is fermentation, aging and storage. Vanilla and wood tannins from the oak conjure up flavor for the wine. Aging time in the barrel is very important; the maturity for different wines can be as much as several years depending on the winemaker and varietal of grape.

When the aging process is complete, grapes are processed and wine is bottled, leaving empty barrels which hopefully are at there end. Paso Wine Barrels will then rescue them and craftily process each entire cask into a beautiful piece of furniture to be enjoyed for years to come. We hope you have enjoyed this piece of barrel history. Save the barrels and … …Salootie Patootie Wine Midtern 2 - Marketing 305 with Chapman at California State University - Chico - StudyBlue A typical sulfur dioxide in wine would be ..... 35-125 parts per million Which attributes of white table wines below make them particularly food friendly? crisp acidity lower % alcohol If you were buying Chardonnay grapes for your winery, what composition listed below would you like them to have? 22.9/.80 When grapes ripen, they get bigger and softer, their green color fades, aromatic compounds increase, sugar increase, and both total acid concentration and acid strength increase. T or F False (both concentration and strength decrease) For winemaking the most important sugar in grape juice is sucrose.

T or F False (is glucose and fructose) According to the grape growers surveyed, which vineyard factor below does not promote grassiness in Sauvignon Blanc? A. Dense canopy Which sensory feature of wine listed below IS NOT DETERMINED by wine making steps through fermentation? clarity vs. haziness Refractometers are used to estimate degrees Brix of a properly collected vineyard sample and can also be used to measure the disappearance of sugars during fermentation. False Which procedure listed below would you not expect to be done before fermentation of chardonnay? Cold Stabilization Wild yeasts are not used by most wineries because they can produce off odors and typically will stop fermenting at around 6-9% alcohol. True A probable fermentation temperature for premium quality white table wines would be about____ degrees Fahrenheit 55 Free run juice has more sugar and less acid and tannin than press run juice because press juice because press juice is extracted at higher pressures from must containing a higher proportion of stems, skins, and seeds. True The weakening of acid strength during ripening is more important for wine quality than is the decrease in the total amount of acid, for which reasons below?

-Wines with stronger acid strengths more easily resist spoilage -wines with stronger acid strengths have brighter colors Grappa can beproduced when press juice is fermented and then distilled True Because carbon dioxide gas is produced during fermentation, fermentation tanks are equipped with one-way valves that allow CO2 to escape while preventing air from entering. True Wines of 2-3% residual sugar can be made by slowing down their fermentations before all the sugar has been used up by chilling them at about 4-8% Brix and then centrifuging to remove the cold-inactivated yeast. true For premium white varietal wine production skin contact means that the chilled must is pumped into a tank to sit for several hours. True You are visiting a winery and you see a cellar worker moving from barrel to barrel with something that looks like a golf club. You ask her what she is doing and she says, "I'm stirring up the yeast in these barrels." What process is most likely going on in those barrels? Aging sur lie A high level of toast in a wine aging barrel is specified by the winemaker when she wants more _____ . Yep, you finally got here.

All of the above are desired when a winemaker orders a heavily toasted barrel from her favorite cooper. During clarification wine can be moved off the lees in one tank into a clean tank. This process is called _____ . racking All aging reactions occur at the surface of the barrel or tank, and smaller barrels have a _____ ratio of surface to volume than do larger wood containers. This means that all aging reactions occur _____ in smaller barrels. greater, faster Which wine making steps below is the source of the color light yellow in a white table wine? early harvest, press whole clusters, no oak aging White Riesling and Gewurztraminer wines traditional bottle the "too tall" brown Rhine bottle used only for white wines Which statement below correctly describes the effect of the malolactic fermentation on the taste of a wine? The acidity and fruitiness are reduced, the complexity increases and a creamy bouquet is produced. During clarification wine can be moved off the lees in one tank into a clean tank. When a winery cannot wait for gravity to pull wine sediments into a lees -- for example when a fresh, fruity white table wine is being made -- a process called _____ is used which speeds up the sediment collection.

centrifugation Which aging regime would impart the most oak aging character to your ultra premium vintage 2004 Napa Valley Chardonnay? Assume the rest of the cuvee is aging in stainless steel tanks and will be blended back before pre-bottling clarification and stabilization. 90% of the cuvee will be aged in new 60-gallon Limousin forest barrels for 12 months. The traditional bottle shape for Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, and White Meritage blends is th straight-sided "claret" bottle also used for Cabernet Sauvignon Which white wine grape variety on the list below originated in France and is popular internationally. In the US it has performed well on both the east and west coasts. Chardonnary Which white wine grape variety on the list below will seem to be less tart and less fruity/herbaceous as it ages in the bottle? Sauv Which white wine grape variety on the list below originated in the Champagne district of France Chard Which white wine grape variety on the list below originated in the Champagne district of France Chard Which winemaking step or steps on the list below are done throughout the time period from barrel aging to bottle aging?

sensory and lab analysis Which wine below is a Chardonnay WITHOUT toasted, butterscotch, or creamy bouquet elements? Sierra Vista Chard unoaked The pieces of wood on the sides of a barrel that are bent into a curved shape to create a barrel are called the staves must be underground The requirements for a good cellar for aging wines includes ALL BUT WHICH ONE of the following attributes? The traditional bottle shape for Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Chenin Blanc wines is the slope-sided In which wine listed below is the malolactic fermentation NOT desirable? wines from grape grown in warm regions valued for fruity aromes To age a wine in a container that adds little or no flavor but is still made of wood you would choose a redwood tank You have fermented your ultra premium Sonoma Valley 2004 vintage Chardonnay to dryness and the percent alcohol is 13.9%. If the percent alcohol goes above 14% you will have to pay a higher Federal Tax on this wine and that will reduce your profits. You make a business decision to age this wine in _______ to avoid evaporation of water which will raise the % alcohol.

humid caves dug into the hillside behind your winery When you are touring a winery that encourages the malolactic fermentation in its wines, what things might you see on your visit that would be evidence for this? d. barrels of wine being warmed up e. envelopes of purified malolactic bacteria During which winemaking step below is it the WORST TIME for the malolatic fermentation to occur? after bottling When wine matures in wood, color, bouquet, flavor, and tannins are extracted from the inside surface of the tank or barrel. Also, ___________ and _____________ occur. Selected Answers: The acidity and frutiness are reduced, the complexity increases, and a creamy bouquet is produced. Wine making steps between barrel aging and bottle again? age in bulk, blend, bottle, bottle age Which of the following is NOT a reason why oak has been used since Roman times to make wine barrels? The appropriate species of trees grow in all temperate and continental climates Which wine making steps below is the source of the color light yellow in a white table wine?

early harvest, press whole clusters, no oak aging The traditional bottle shape for Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, and White Meritage blends is the Selected Answer: barrels of wine being warmed up c. envelopes of purified malolactic bacteria To age a wine in a container that adds little or no flavor but is still made of wood you would choose a german oak ovals Which wine below is a Chardonnay more likely to have a toasted, butterscotch, or creamy bouquet elements? Summers What sensory effects from the wine making steps between barrel aging and bottle aging arise from the malolactic fermentation? increased complexity and decreased tartness Compared to American oak for barrel making, French and other European oak ahs less ______ and more ______ from the wood of their tall, straight trees. vanilla, subtle When you are touring a winery that encourages the malolactic fermentation in its wines, what things might you see on your visit that would be evidence for this? envelopes of purified malolactic bacteria d. barrels of wine being warmed up In a cooler growing area, oak trees will grow slower and the wood will be ______ grained so that the extraction of flavors into the wine will be ____ .

tighter, slower The likelihood of the malolactic fermentation can be increased by aging a wine sur lie. Why is that? Selected Answer: breaking up the yeast cells adds nutrients needed by the malolactic bacteria d. breaking up the yeast cells adds nutrients needed by the malolactic bacteria When the label of a sparkling wine says "Methode Champenoise," the process by which the bubbles in this wine were created would be second in a bottle When the label of a sparkling wine says "Methode Traditionelle," the process by which the bubbles in this wine were created would be second fermentation in a bottle One term for a French sparkling wine made outside the Champagne district is vin mousseaux When the label of a sparkling wine says "naturally fermented in this bottle," the process by which the bubbles in this wine were created would be second in a bottle In which stage of Methode Champenoise sparkling wine production is the neck of the bottle frozen to trap the collected yeast? degorgement Pressing whole clusters is one fruit-handling procedure that was originally developed to minimize color extraction from dark skinned Pinot Noir grapes.

True You would expect to see about the same proportions of vintage-dated wines among the sparkling wines as among the varietal table wines on the shelves of your wine shop. false hich grape variety below is not likely to be used for Méthode Chamopenoise sparkling wine production in France or California? Sauv Which is the most common method of producing sparkling wines? trap the CO2 A cuvee blended from white grapes only is called Blanc de Blancs and if only red grapes are used it is called Blanc de Noirs. T The wines to be blended into a cuvee would not be very attractive as still table wines because they would seem too tart, too low in alcohol, and lacking in varietal character. True Which producer would encourage the malolactic fermentation? Domaine Longtaste Recognizable varietal aroma is not usually sought in grapes to be used for the Méthode Champenoise. true Under appearance, the bubble display of sparkling wines is evaluated and tasters look for small bubbles that evolve from the wine over a long time and form a smooth, white foam on the surface of the wine.

True When the label of a sparkling wine says "California Carbonated White Wine," the process by which the bubbles in this wine were created would be carbonation History Of The Oak Barrel | Red Head Oak Barrels | Aging Rum, Whiskey, Bourbon, Tequila, Wine Liquor History Of The Oak Barrel Posted on August 24, 2013 in Aging In Oak Barrels Sometimes, starting with the obvious is best: Since the inception of wine, there have always been vessels for holding it. Throughout much of the history of wine, it has been aged, transported and stored in amphorae or clay jugs. Albeit rarely, wine can still be aged in amphorae, it is also occasionally produced in miscellaneous vessels that are much like concrete tanks or in demijohns, which are large glass jugs. Most commonly, however, oak barrels are used for holding modern wine, as are glass bottles and tanks made from stainless steel. Today, we will consider the oak barrel history Oak barrel history is sketchy, given that many of the potential artifacts have been lost to wood rot.

The oak barrel history that is generally accepted starts with the Celts, or the Northern Europeans who lived around the Alps or what is current France and Germany. They had timber in abundance in their natural environment (oak happens to be ideal for barrel-making purposes). The economy created an increased demand for transportation and storage vessels. From this and with a bit of ingenuity, the wooden barrel was created around 300 BC. This was a technology that did not last … by chance, the clever woodworker would soon be overtaken by the Roman Empire. While this did not bode well for the Celts, it did good in terms of spreading barrel-making. Oak barrels continued to be used for centuries and yet, at some point in the oak barrel history, winemakers begin to take notice and then leverage, the effects that the barrel aging process had on their wines. This is an understanding that really took off in the 19th century. This was truly an age of science. Fermentation and spoilage were just two of the many scientific issues that this culture explored and much of this research involved the direct study of wine. Generally, however, the practice of scientific thinking trickled down to the average individual, including those who made wine.

Second, during this part of oak barrel history, there were changes at sea. Ship building was, for a very long time, accountable for the largest consumption of timber. Revolutionary warmongers, throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, did what they could to ensure naval might and therefore instituted major replanting projects. Navies moved to constructing ships from metal during the 19th century, which is a very poignant transition in the oak barrel history. The result of this change at sea resulted in a wealth of oak … the wood that is perfectly suited for barrel making. At last, during this time in oak barrel history, the increase of oak could increase the amount of oak barrels that were in wine cellars. As you will soon find out, these new oak barrels have very profound effects on wine and thus, it is not hard to imagine that this would push winemakers to learn more about, exploit and control these effects. wine barrel | Paso Wine Barrels | Page 2 Paso Wine Barrels All About Paso, Wine, Barrels … & More? … Yes, More Menu Leave a reply First of all, we’re not talking about wine.

Instead, what we are asking is if you ever bought an oak barrel product like our decorative barrels, maybe half barrels such as our planter and hose holders or even wine barrel furniture typically like chairs, tables etc. Let us know and pass this around to your friends. Cheers, Leave a reply Sneak peak on a special order – Part 5 As you may recall, the product that we started with was almost unrepairable. One end of the old wine barrel had been sitting in dirt for a time and that included mud at some junctures, which in-turn started rotting the wood on the end of the staves. The owner was willing to go along with whatever was needed so we went to work. We decided early on that the one bad head or cap would have to be the bottom of the barrel and we would add an extra layer of wood to beef up the barrel. We struggled a bit getting the old stain off because it’s a bit sticky and gooey when being sanded. Another issue with the sanding was the uneven surface caused in part by the staves being rotten, which didn’t allow each stave to have equal strength or hold together very well.

By the way, when we say ‘we’ we’re mostly talking about Ron who did a vast majority of the work on this project barrel. We overcame the extra work and now the staining and sealing we’re next . Of course prepping is in order first and as we stated, one of the more tedious jobs to do. The owner of the barrel asked for a darker look which we’ve done before and call leather. Then it was onto the hoops, which would be painted burgundy. Everything went well until we decided there was too much pitting and redid one band . That led us to now, where we cleaned up the barrel by giving the bands a quick buffing. We looked over the barrel and touched up anything we thought wasn’t right but the owner thought it looked great so we were done. We should add, the weather was cold and wet at the end of this project making conditions, well, let’s just say a bit of a pain. BLOG STORY SPECIAL – Ask for these two barrels and receive $100 off the sale.

(see below for more info) Although this was someone else’s cask that we worked on along with being a barrel we wouldn’t normally recraft – hopefully this little five part story offers some insight into what we do to each product we work on and the lengths we will go to make it right. In the future, Paso Wine Barrels will offer other stories of our work and business as we move along. If you ever have any questions about wine barrels whether they’re ours or not, ask us and we will try to tender an answer. As they say in wine country, ‘Saluti’ – or as we say Salootie Patootie! Ron and Daryle Hier Leave a reply Sneak peak on a special order – Part 4 Our special project barrel has been a lot of work including the simple sounding prepping – but most everything has gone rather smoothly … until now. More trees were chopped down to aid us in redoing one of the bands after initially painting the entire barrel’s hoops. We may or may not have mentioned it but if you had looked closely at the head bands in the pictures – those hoops that were at the far top and bottom – they weren’t in good shape.

We sanded and prepped them for primer and paint but didn’t like the way they came out with one particular hoop. The primer had covered some of the pits and it’s not unusual for paint to take care of any other very minor pits. However, we didn’t like the way it appeared after drying, so we striped it again – we use dark grey primer as seen in the picture. Note: we know that some of these imperfections come with dealing with an old wine barrel and sometimes we let these blemishes go but in this instance, they were pronounced and it was our artistic impression that we should do this one band over again. Regardless, the one band was once again primered, sanded, prepped and then painted one more time. The overall look was better and we were happy with the end result. The barrels owner inspected what we had done and couldn’t wait to get his renewed barrel back. We will buff it out and give it one final cleaning. Looks like one last installment is necessary as we unveil the final product. By the way, we need you to vote in our band color poll. It’s quick with just one question. Go here: Salootie Patootie!

4 Replies Sneak peak on a special order – Part 3 Taking a dilapidated old wine barrel and making it look better than new is a challenge when it has an end of it that is rotten – as we stated when we started this project . Plus the wine barrel had previously been stained and painted which made the work all that more tedious. There are at least two bands left on a barrel at all times while staining and sealing. Now we take the barrel and remove some of the hoops off so we can stain and seal using a darker stain than we normally apply. We call this color leather because it gives the wine barrel the look that it is encased in leather. As we go along, we move some of the hoops (or bands) off and replace them with others to keep the barrel together, waiting between times to let the stain and sealer on the barrel dry. And we should note ever so importantly that we can’t take all the bands off or the barrel would come apart and that isn’t a pretty thing to have happen – think of the funniest comedy scene you’ve ever saw. Yes, we’ve been there and don’t want to do it again.

Now that we have the barrel stained, we will need to prep the barrel with the hoop bands on it and ready the bands for paint. Again, we will use burgundy on this one which makes it meld into the barrel for a more subtle look. The owner of the barrel wanted that particular kind of appearance. By the way, go to our poll and give your opinion of what color you think would look the best. The bands are in place and prepped with paper and tape used to keep the band paint off the wood. Having had a classic restoration business, we know all too well how much time and effort goes into prepping, which is one of the most unrewarding jobs to do. We use the county rag (San Luis Obispo Tribune) for cover – it has to be good for something. We will paint next and then let dry before buffing and shining it up a bit. You can see how that goes with what should be our last installment of ‘Recrafting An Old Wine Barrel’. Salootie Patootie!

Leave a reply Sneak peak on a special order – Part 2 When we started this project ( go here ), one end (or head as it’s called) of the wine barrel was rotten in places due to sitting in mud on and off through the years. It wasn’t repairable beyond placing another piece of wood over it while sanding and grinding most of chime off – the chime is the end of a stave beyond the head. Ron points to the uneven surface that made sanding more difficult. And note the rotten area at top filled in with new wood. Sometimes you receive a barrel that has already been worked on and might have paint or some other stain on them. Such was the case with this barrel. It had paint on the hoops (bands) and the wood had been stained. Subsequently, the next process was to strip the paint and stain off the barrel so we can have a decent surface to sand, restain in this case, seal and paint on both the hoops and the wood. More work than usual The hoops took quite a bit of sanding on to strip off all the old paint.

Note that the stain clogs up our sandpaper more than usual, bogging down the process; plus, sealer isn’t easy to sand off – it’s sticky. Additionally, the wood was harder than normal to sand because it was uneven because the deteriorated ends of the staves made it difficult to bring back to a flush surface. We prevailed for the most part but if the barrel wasn’t perfectly even, that was okay since it added character – common with any of these unique pieces – which the owner of the barrel was more than fine with. Barrel sanded Next up after the sanding, will be prepping – a tedious chore – and then application of the stain and sealer. We will stain the wood surface with a darker than normal color, add sealer and then paint the hoop bands burgundy. Stay with us as we show you additional progress on this special order dealing with a very old and decrepit wine barrel. Salootie Patootie! Leave a reply The most common oak used (almost exclusively) in the making of wine is wood from the oak tree. Whether from North America or Europe, almost all wine barrels are made from the hardwood oak. In America, the White Oak is the wood of choice for making wine barrels.

Why? Old White Oaks can be as wide as they are tall. The simple answer is the binding of the grains in the oak is tighter than most other trees and in the matter of the White Oak (technically quercus alba), the flavors given off by the wood compliment wine better than any other. Commonly you’ll hear that a new barrel gives off a spicy vanilla flavor to the wine, which is like seasoning the wine. Given its tight grain structure and density, the White Oak’s wood is essentially resistant to rot, making it a great product for wine barrels and furniture use in or out of a home or business. Where they come from First off, anyone who says they know exactly how many barrels are sold and where they come from is either not telling the truth or it’s an estimated guess. Regardless, French oak makes up nearly two-thirds of all wine barrels produced. North American oak (mostly from the United States) makes up nearly one-third of wine barrel production worldwide. Note: a small percentage of oak comes from Eastern Europe. The main difference between the oaks of Europe and the United States is the tightness of the grains. French are tighter and thereby don’t offer quite as much flavor as American.

That’s not necessarily a good or bad distinction between the two, but actually offers a winemaker a choice of what he wants the barrel to impart with the wine. Though French oak have higher tannins than American, the still high tannin content influences aromas and flavors. In addition, the bark is used for medicinal purposes such as treating inflammation along with a variety of ailments . Usually found in lower elevations, the slow-developing White Oak generally grows throughout the eastern half of the United States and is the country’s national tree. Not to be confused with its close cousins the Bur Oak or Swamp White Oak, which maybe is a bit darker, the bark of a white oak is an ashen color. A popular food for an assortment of birds and mammals, their rather large acorns mature quickly compared to most other oaks (within six months) and the tree is not evergreen but deciduous, meaning it loses it leaves every year. There is an exception to losing it leaves and that’s the fact younger White Oaks can hold onto their leaves through winter, offering additional protection for many different types of birds. A stack of staves before being assembled into a wine barrel.

It’s not unusual for a cooperage (where they make barrels) to use the oak from diverse areas of the country but in any case the Midwest is the most popular region for producing wine barrel quality trees. The state of Missouri is probably the most common producer of White Oak used in American wine barrel making. By the way, the central part of France is where a majority of wine barrel wood comes from with the government controlling nearly all those forests. Big and strong With dark green leaves that turn a dark reddish hue in the fall, White Oaks grow almost as wide as they grow tall and with its lighter than normal bark, they are regal in the way they stand out. When the hardwood is cut to make barrels, the wood is light in color, but turns a pale yellow when dried. The hardwood from these trees is excellent material for a multitude of uses including floors, beams and railroad ties. Left alone, a White Oak may live up to 500 years and grow to 100 feet – both up and across. The leaves on a White Oak can turn a dark red color in the fall. Oddly enough, a vast majority of wine is not stored in wooden barrels at all, but instead is stored in giant steel casks.

Still, the art of making wine in oak barrels consistently produces the best wines. And the White Oak is a key source of what makes those wines as good as they are. If you were to look up the most expensive wines, you would find they all received their start in an oak barrel. While the French oak is more subtle and popular in its use than American, the White Oak ads a character all its own and can make wines more robust. Since our business is the beautification of old, used wine barrels, I thought it would be interesting to know some history on just how, when and where the old wooden wine casks started. Amphora was used for wine before wooden cask came along. Early accounts show there is not an exact time the wooden barrel began to be used but history indicates that it goes back to the era of the Roman Empire. Before that time, the common container for storage, fermentation and aging was the Amphora. The Amphora dates back to the Lithos’ (new stone-age) era and were ceramic vases of various sizes, with handles on a narrow neck which stood about two to four feet from the floor usually next to a table.

Larger Amphoras could hold about 100 pounds of liquid, usually wine. Sealed with pine resin, they were commonly painted with beautiful colors, sometimes by famous artists and painters. The vessels were generally owned by the elite. History reads that Herodotus used palm-wood casks to ship Armenian wine to Babylon in Mesopotamia but the barrel as we know it today was most likely developed by the Celts. Their technique of bending planks through heating, in the process of making hulls for boats, evolved into a method of building wooden barrels. It seems the shape of the barrel, a cylinder, fat in the center and drawn in on the ends with flat top and bottom aided in moving heavy items due to leverage. 18th Century cooperage Wooden barrels for wine making are made of either French common oak, White oak or American white oak. Generally there are two sizes: “Bordeaux type “at 59 US gallons (225 liters) and “Cognac type” at 79 US gallons (300 liters). The maker of wooden barrels is called a cooper and the plant is called a cooperage.

The history of the wooden barrel seems to be based on transportation; however, the primary importance of the cask today is fermentation, aging and storage. Vanilla and wood tannins from the oak conjure up flavor for the wine. Aging time in the barrel is very important; the maturity for different wines can be as much as several years depending on the winemaker and varietal of grape. When the aging process is complete, grapes are processed and wine is bottled, leaving empty barrels which hopefully are at there end. Paso Wine Barrels will then rescue them and craftily process each entire cask into a beautiful piece of furniture to be enjoyed for years to come. We hope you have enjoyed this piece of barrel history. Save the barrels and … …Salootie Patootie Wine Barrels: French or American Oak? Stainless Steel or Cement?... • Stainless steel vats have indisputable advantages for the vinification of red wine: • Easy to maintain. The inside surface is smooth and cleaning is very efficient. • Control. Stainless steel has thermal conductivity which reduces internal heating and simple cooling systems can be used (i.e., running water down the side or circulation of a coolant around the exterior walls). • Durable.

Steel wine barrels last for decades and do not impact on the taste of the wine. Should “oakiness” be desired, a few chips can be added. • Inexpensive. Wineries use large quantities of barrels and steel allows a cost reduction; the expense can be recovered long before the barrels need to be replaced. • Prevents oxidation. Lids can be placed tight, preventing oxidation and improving quality of the wine. • Neutral flavor. No influence on the taste of wine; enables winemakers to experiment with different flavors. The finish is crisp, fresh and light and wine becomes more fruit forward. • Environment friendly. No need to dispose of used oak barrels as the metal from the stainless steel can be recycled. • Better wine. Not everyone likes “oakiness” in wine. Wine fermenting in stainless steel turns wine brighter and many think it tastes better. • Shipping. Wine needs extra care when being packaged and shipped. Stainless steel barrels for packaging wine can be completely sealed eliminating leaks. Why Wood? Since the Roman Empire, white oak has been the tree of choice for winemaking.

Although it was originally used for storage, the winemakers quickly recognized that the oak barrels were adding value to the wine – making it softer and more flavorful. White oak is strong, resilient and bendable. The trees are huge and yields straight grained stave bolts, makes a liquid tight container with minimal shrinkage (wet to dry) and has no objectionable flavors. However, it was not until the 1960s, when Robert Mondavi started to experiment with different types of oak and barrel styles that it became fashionable. Proceed with Caution Chopping down 100 year old trees to make barrels for wine fermentation and storage may not appear the best way to cultivate sustainability. In addition, French oak barrels can cost US$4000+/-. As one barrel of wine produces 60 gallons of wine or 300 bottles, the cost of the barrel adds an additional expense to each bottle of wine. Other expenditures include storage (the aging of the wine in the barrel can run 20+ years), maintenance and barrel exhaustion, loss of wine due to evaporation, leakage and even spoilage. Value Added Oak’s primary influences are on the nose and mouth.

Oak accentuates aromas that center on the spicy (i.e., clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and allspice). On the palate, oak’s influence turns towards the rich flavors of caramel, coconut, vanilla, cinnamon, clove, smoke, tea, mocha, toffee and butter. Oak also improves the stability of the color and clarity of wine, offers more consistency to the taste of the wine while decreasing some of the harsher undertones found in young wines while embedding a smoother and deeper texture and softening tannins. The fermenting of red wine in barrels improves the quality of the wine (compared to tank-fermented wines) through assimilation and textural enrichment. Aging wine on the lees (the yeast and sediment that settles to the bottom of the barrel during fermentation), imparts a creaminess and complexity that can’t be found in stainless steel.

Typically Oaked Wines • Red wine varietals include: Pinot Noir, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinotage, Chianti, Zinfandel, Nebbiolo, Tempranillo and Syrah • White wine varietals include: Pinot Grigio, Pinot Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Chardonnay 2. French Oak • French oak producing areas are: Lomousin, Allier, Troncais, Bourgogne, Nevers and Vosges. • The oak is allowed to dry in open air and age for 24-36 months giving barrels a tighter grain that restricts air entrance through the pores. • Flavor varies because of the many different barrels; however, the most common flavor hints include butterscotch, cedar, vanilla, coconut and a creamy texture. • For example: Red Bordeaux is made with oak from the Allier which gives not only the most intense but also the smoothest and most pleasant wood characteristic. With Limousin oak the woodiness is not only aromatically more discrete but also sharper on the palate.

• Heavier flavors and increased tannin content are ideal for full-bodied wine varietals. 3. American Oak • Trees grown in Eastern USA, Iowa, Kentucky, Ohio, Oregon, Missouri, Minnesota and Wisconsin. • Dried using a kiln-dry methods allowing a quicker release of the aromas to the wine • More flavor quickly (sweet/vanilla overtones) than French Oak due to increased lactones; greater risk of over-“oakiness”. • Quicker release of aromas helps wines lose their astringency and harshness faster • Good for shorter maturations (6-10 months). • Offers modest tannin contribution. • Allows fruit to interact with the wood offering wide variety of complex aromas and soft palatable tannins. • Bolder than French oak – used for powerful red or for warm climate Chardonnays • Pronounced oxidation. 4. Wood Chips • Can be added (to cement or stainless steel vats) during fermentation or aging (placed in fabric sacks). • Ages wine more quickly than wood barrels . • Adds “oakiness” with strong vanilla flavors (in weeks rather than years) • Flavor may be flat and/or heaving vanilla extract. 5.

Other options: Oak planks/staves, Oak powder– may not age as well as wine matured in barrels. 6. Toasting Oak • Barrel toasting varies: light, medium or heavy. • Lighter toast: retains some of the oak based character for the wine. • Heavier toasting or charring: more oaky and smoky nuances in the wine. • Increased toasting: increase oak’s influence on the color, aroma, flavor and style of the wine. 7. Cement (egg or square shape) • Concrete eggs mix ancient and ultra-modern winemaking techniques, since the first wines were actually fermented in pottery jars called amphorae. • First egg vat commissioned by Michel Chapoutier (2001) after meetings with French vat manufacturer Marc Nomblot, a concrete wine vat manufacturer since 1922. • Concrete has been used successfully since the 19th century for winemaking, but the egg shape is new and allows wine to have a natural convection current as the carbon dioxide released during fermentation helps to naturally stir the wine and mix in the sediment, or lees. • In cement, process of juice to wine is slower because fermentation takes place at a lower temperature.

• Retains relatively constant temperature. • Porous and allows micro-oxidization to evolve and develop a textured mouthfeel similar to oak. • Develops a richer display of the fruit’s pure flavor characteristics. • Offers a mild minerality perceived as a positive quality in lighter wines. • Offers greater purity of fruit flavor and good for delicate white and rose wines. • If winemaker chooses to mature the wine in oak barrels to add depth and character the wine can be matured in oak barrels. Choices. No Correct Answer Wine Evolves. Aging in barrel allows wine to develop new characteristics from slow/gentle contact with the air through the wood’s natural pores. Cement is also porous, but does not impart additional flavors associated with wood and the wine is likely to be more fruit forward. It would be easy to select a bottle of wine if all the experts agreed on the best methodology to be used for making a terrific bottle of wine. Whether wines selected are at the top or bottom price points, there is no consensus on the best way to take the grape and transform it into a delicious tasting experience. Winemaking is both an art and a science.

Casks (barrels, butts, punchons, pipes, barriques and hogsheads) An opportunity to develop the brand management team for Atom Supplies Ltd..... Casks (barrels, butts, punchons, pipes, barriques and hogsheads) Words by: Simon Difford Photography by: diffordsguide at Midleton Distillery (many thanks to the Jameson team) Barrels are a particular size and shape of wooden cask. There are numerous other types of cask and the term ‘barrel’ is often wrongly used as a catch-all alternative generic for cask. Usually made of white oak, casks have been used since Roman times as a means of storing and transporting goods - everything from nails to whiskey. The development of cardboard boxes, shipping containers, steel/plastic drums and palletisation have rendered the cask obsolete as a shipping container but the ability for an oak cask to improve the flavour of wine, beer and spirits is more recognised and used today than ever before . Casks are hollow cylindrical containers, traditionally constructed from wooden staves bound by wooden or galvanized iron hoops.

Bulging at the middle, their shape allows them to be easily rolled and turned by one person, even when fully filled. The rounded construction, both widthwise and lengthwise, also makes casks incredibly strong allowing them to be stacked. As every schoolboy knows, castles have rounded rather than square edges to their walls because a rounded construction is stronger. Over some 2,000 years, white oak has become the timber of choice in which to mature wine, spirits and even beer. White oak contributes luscious flavours yet is relatively neutral compared to pine and other woods. When quarter sawn, white oak becomes water liquid tight - unlike red oak and many other woods. White also has a cell structure ideally suited be worked to make a cask. The oak used to make the casks is split and sawn into blanks that are stacked and left to weather, exposed to the elements for at least six months and in many cases three years, depending on the wine maker or distiller's specifications. The weathering bleaches and washes out bitter tannins in the oak and allows the development of vanillin. Steam and toasting over gentle flames helps shape the staves and also converts some of the starches in the wood into sugars.

Charring or burning of the inside of the barrel caramelises these sugars and forms a layer of charred and cracked oak which helps impart flavour and colour to any spirit stored in the cask. Distillers can choose the degree of charring from one (light char) to four (deep char) depending on how they want the cask to affect their spirit. Casks types & sizes As I mentioned above, most people tend to call wooden casks barrels but a 'barrel' is actually a particular size and shape of cask. A barrel is a cask but not all casks are barrels. The American whiskey industry's use of the 180 to 200 litre barrel has made this the prevalent shape and size of cask in use today. The dominance of the US standard barrel is helped by rules regarding the production of bourbon whiskey which only permit the use of new charred white oak barrels. Consequently whisky and rum makers the world over use second-hand casks sourced from America's bourbon producers. However, there are numerous other types of cask. Due to being hand-made, the size of each cask varies slightly and the following list of cask types indicates their average capacity.

English Tun 982 litres / 259 US gallons / 216 imp gallons The English tun is a standard imperial measure equal to 216 imperial gallons. A tun is twice the size of a butt and equal to six brewery barrels. Gorda Capacity: 700 litres / 185 US gallons / 154 imp gallons These huge casks made from American oak are traditional to the American whiskey industry but are not often used for maturation in the Scotch whisky industry as their capacity is too close to the maximum permitted cask size of 700 litres. However, the large capacity of Gorda casks make them useful for marrying of different whiskies to produce vatted whisky. Madeira Drum Capacity: 650 litres / 172 US gallons / 143 imp gallons Made from very thick staves of European oak, as the name suggests, these short, fat, dumpy casks are used in the Madeira wine industry. Madeira seasoned drums are sometimes used to age spirits, particularly for finishing some whiskies.

Port Pipe Capacity: 650 litres / 172 US gallons / 143 imp gallons Made from thick staves of European oak, the name is both descriptive of these casks being used in the port wine industry and their long narrow shape. Port seasoned pipes are often used for finishing Scotch whisky. Machine Puncheon Capacity: 500 litres / 132 US gallons / 110 imp gallons There are two styles of puncheon cask and this short fat cask made from thick American oak staves chiefly used in the rum industry is the most common. Ex-rum puncheons are sometimes used to finish sherry. Sherry Shape Puncheon Capacity: 500 litres / 132 US gallons / 110 imp gallons Shorter and squat-shaped, this second type of puncheon is made with thinner staves of Spanish oak and is used in the sherry industry. Sherry seasoned puncheon casks are used in the whisky industry.

Sherry Butt 478-500 litres / 126-132 US gallons / 105-110 imp gallons These long slender casks made from thick European oak staves are the most common type of sherry cask. Sherry butts are widely used in the whisky industry, to the extent that an industry has grown in Spain to make these casks and season them with sherry style wine according to the specification of Scotch whisky distillers - usually oloroso sherry for 3 years. The wine held in such new oak is not suitable for sherry making so the wine used to season these casks is usually distilled into Spanish brandy. Hence, strictly speaking, whiskies aged in such casks should not be described as being "aged in sherry butts" as these butts never produced sherry. In the British brewing industry a butt is officially 108 imperial gallons. Barrique (Cognac type) Capacity: 300 litres / 79 US gallons / 66 imp gallons Commonly used throughout the wine and cognac industries, and consequently also as second-hand casks by the Scotch whisky industry.

They are best described as butt-shaped hogsheads. Barrique (Bordeaux type) Capacity: 225 litres / 59 US gallon / 49 imp gallon Commonly used throughout the wine industry, this is the size favoured by producers in Bordeaux. They are best described as butt-shaped hogsheads. Hogshead (re-purposed barrels) Capacity: 225 to 250 litres / 59-66 US gallons / 49-54 imp gallons It is common practice in the Scotch whisky industry for five ex-bourbon standard barrels to be broken down into staves and then reassembled with new ends to make four larger 250 litre casks known as hogsheads (or affectionately 'hoggies'). Scotch whisky distillers favour hogshead casks over standard barrels as the larger casks enable more whisky to be stored in the same warehouse space. Many also say that whisky matures better in the slightly larger casks.

The name hogshead originally derives from a 15th century English term 'hogges hede', which referred to a unit of measurement equivalent to 63 gallons (considerably larger than a modern day hogshead which is officially 54 imperial gallons). British Brewery Barrel Capacity: 164 litres / 43 US gallons / 36 imperial gallons A standard British brewing industry measure and barrel size. One Brewer's Barrel equals 288 pints. American Standard Barrel (ASB) Capacity: 180 to 200 litres/ 50-53 US gallons / 40-44 imp gallons Made of American white oak (and very occasionally European oak) the American Standard Barrel is the most common type and size of cask in use today. They are usually first used by the American whiskey industry to age bourbon before being sold to whisky and rum producers around the world, particularly Scottish whisky distillers. They are often broken into staves to reduce shipping costs and reassembled in Scotland as hogsheads. Many consider American Standard Barrels to be the optimum size for maturing whiskey delivering the perfect liquid to cask surface area ratio.

In a Scottish distillery the American bourbon casks are easily distinguished from European sherry casks as their ends have a small indent when compared to the large indent of sherry casks. kilderkin Capacity approx: 82 litres / 22 US gallons / 18 imp gallons A kilderkin is half the size of a British Brewery Barrel. Quarter Cask Capacity approx: 50 litres/ 13 US gallons / 11 imp gallons Made to a quarter of the size of an American Standard Barrel but to the same proportions. The smaller size provides a much greater surface to liquid ratio, meaning that spirits aged in such casks mature more quickly. However, great things come to those that wait and spirits aged in larger casks tend to be better. Blood Tub Capacity approx: 40 litres / 11 US gallons / 9 imp gallons These small casks traditionally have an elongated oval shape, originally to enable them to be carried on horseback. Firkin Capacity approx: 41 litres / 11 US gallons / 9 imp gallons A firkin is quarter the size of a British Brewery Barrel and the name originates from the Middle Dutch vierdekijn meaning 'fourth'.

This size of cask holds 72 pints and is popular in the British brewing industry where it is widely used for cask ale. Scottish apprentice coppers traditionally make a firkin sized cask at the end of their apprenticeship as proof that they have honed their cask making skills. Pin Capacity approx: 20.5 litres / 5 US gallons / 4.5 imp gallons A British pin is equal to half a firkin. This size has become popular with home brewers who use plastic bag-in-box containers of this size known as polypins. A pin holds 36 pints. Minipin Capacity approx: 10.25 litres / 2.5 US gallons / 2.25 imp gallons Minipins tend to be plastic bag-in-box containers used to serve traditional British ale in people's homes. These are filled by decanting from a firkin or other larger cask and hold 18 pints.

Barracoon/barrack Capacity approx: 4 litres/ 1 US gallon / 0.9 imp gallons HDPE drum Capacity approx: 250 litres / 65 US gallons / 55 imp gallons HDPE (high density polyethylene) a material designated "food safe" and is what cutting boards for food preparation are made from. HDPE is also used to make the large blue drums which have replaced wooden casks for many uses in the drinks industry. These inert containers are used to ship neutral spirit to boutique gin and vodka distillers and then often to send their finished product to third party bottlers. Cask making is a long and costly process If you thought waiting for whiskey to mature was a long term investment then compare it to the economics of growing trees to make casks. A small acorn may grow into a big tree but to reach the maturity required for a cooper to make it into a cask requires some 75 years, and very few acorns survive to grow into trees. Oak trees don't start dropping acorns until they reach the age of 20.

Then many of the acorns that fall from the parent tree will be eaten by squirrels, or succumb to frost, soil erosion, or other perils and predators. Seedlings that sprout from acorns that have dropped and remained directly under the parent tree will wither from a lack of sunlight and nutrients. Of the few trees that do survive into maturity, many will be unsuitable for coppering into casks due to broken limbs, branches that shoot off low down the trunk, knots, insect infestation, or simply not being straight enough. Spread out or broken tree bark is a sign of an unhealthy oak and if such a tree is made into casks then those casks are likely to leek due to microscopic holes. In the 1950s, foresters tended to fell 90 to 95 year old oak trees for cask making (coopering) but studies have shown that at such an advanced age, oak trees no longer impart as much flavour as those that are 20 years younger. Older trees have passed their photosynthetic prime, and like old men, lack the energy and charisma of their younger brethren.

Even then, after 75 years, tall mature healthy oaks maybe felled to be made into furniture rather than casks. When the housing crash hit the States in the late 2000s, the coopering industry was one of the few to benefit as the market for quality furniture dropped, so did the demand and price of oak. Cask construction The tree trunk must be cut into planks in such a way that the wood's grain, medullary rays which transport nutrition between the tunk's core and the outer parts of the tree, run perpendicular to the plank so when made into staves the wood acts as a semi-permeable seal. If the medullary rays ran from the inside to the outside of the cask it would leak. Type of wood barrel has huge effect on wine Type of wood barrel has huge effect on wine by Mark Tarbell - Mar. 25, 2009 12:00 AM Special for The Republic While oak has been used for centuries for storage and transport of wine, in the past 200 years it has become critical to its aroma and "flavoring." Everything about the wood has a separate impact. It starts with its origins.

American oak has higher resin and leaves a strong imprint of redwood, resin or cedar on a wine. Its wider grain allows for more transfer of oxygen. The oak from Minnesota or Wisconsin is the best for aging wine, while oaks from the southern regions are too aggressive for wine and are better suited for bourbon (for which they're very well suited indeed). French oak has less resin, and the character it imparts is subtle vanilla, baking spice and some structure. French oak has a finer grain, allowing for less evaporation. Some of the most important oak forests in France are identified in much the same way that wine appellations are, and the forests of Nevers, Allier, Troncais, Limousin and Vosges each lends a distinct characteristic. Slavic, Baltic, and East European oaks vary but tend to lean more toward the attributes of the American oak. These states were very important to wine making in Europe's history, and now that the Iron Curtain has been dropped, they are back in the game. The next influence on the wood is the barrel maker, or cooper. Each company - called a cooperage - has a style that adds its own signature, if subtle, nuance to the wine.

Some of the "big names" include Seguin Moreau, Francois Freres and Demptos. The level of "toast" is the No. 1 thing barrel makers can do to affect the taste and flavor of wine. A winery may request light, medium or heavy toast. All handcrafted wine barrels are fabricated over open fire pits. The barrel maker uses moisture and the heat to bend the staves into the barrel shape, and to impart the level of charring known as toast. The heads or round ends of the barrel can be toasted, or not, as well. Toast adds a distinctive and seductive . . . uh, well . . . toast to the aroma and flavor. It is most easily picked up in Chardonnays but is also certainly evident in silky reds from Australia and Napa. The level of toast chosen would be light for a light wine low in concentration. If this type of wine were to be fermented or aged in a heavy-toast barrel, toast is all you'd smell or taste. The wine would be overwhelmed. But as the fruit extract and concentration of the wine go up, so can the toast.

Another influence barrel makers have is in the choice of the two methods for drying the wood, known as "curing" or "seasoning." The old-fashioned (translation: most expensive and most time-consuming) method is to let wood air-dry in a dry, well-ventilated condition for at least two years. The French use this method. The other way, which is to kiln-dry the wood, is much quicker and more cost-effective and is used often in the U.S. Kiln-drying yields mixed results and usually imparts a more tannic and astringent quality to the wine. Poorly seasoned wood has a biting, bitter character with green-wood tannins that will not age or integrate a wine no matter how long it's in the bottle. The next step involves the winemaker's choices. How many times a barrel is used has a large impact on the resulting wine. With each use the influence of the oak reduces in intensity. Barrels are very expensive - $400 to $600 each - and if you've ever been in a winery you know the rows of barrels appear to be miles long; replacing them is a major investment.

Of course the use of older barrels can be a very conscious choice, meant to transfer oxygen but allow little impact from the wood. How the winemaker chooses to let the wood affect the wine during fermentation will offer very different results as well. A couple of things happen when a white (and more rarely a red) is "barrel fermented." Most importantly, the oak is perfectly integrated into the taste and aroma of the wine. Secondly, a reaction occurs with the yeasts that can give a fresh, breadlike quality to the wine. In an odd way it nourishes the wine. Barrel-fermented wines are very stable as they've had a small, steady and healthy interaction with oxygen. The color remains tight and consistent for a longer time as well. Once barrel meets wine, the results of all of these choices go into action.

The process adds more weight to a statement that my friend Jim Gallen often makes: That wine making is "simple, but not easy!" All About Oak Barrels: Why And How It Enhances Wine | Red Head Oak Barrels | Aging Rum, Whiskey, Bourbon, Tequila, Wine Liquor All About Oak Barrels: Why And How It Enhances Wine Posted on May 4, 2013 in Aging In Oak Barrels , Wine Barrels were first designed for storage of wine. Many people have seen the museum specimens and replicas of amphorae and clay pots recovered by archeologists digging in Greek or Roman sites. Such vessels predate wooden storage containers used for wine and other liquids. The existence of open wooden buckets with straight sides, using rings to hold slats together is documented as early as 2690 BCE (Before common era) in Egypt. It was not until the Iron Age (900-800 BCE) that fully closed barrels were developed. By the first century BCE, these barrels were often used to hold beer, wine, olive oil, milk and water.

With the development of transportation and trade, shippers found sealed wooden containers to offer many superior advantages to shipping in fragile clay vessels, and thus the craft of barrel making (known as cooperage) was launched and developed to meet the growth in trade. Wooden casks or barrels had replaced the clay vessels early in the second century CE (Common Era). The first reason for the growth of the use of wooden barrels was for the strength they provided. Most were made of wood, held together using metal hoops, although the first were held together with leather. The hoops bound the joints in a double arch. Since the barrels were sealed and round, they could easily be rolled from one location to another for easier transportation. Soon a third advantage was found. Certain goods, such as wine receive benefits from being stored in a wooden vessel. This advantage is the reason the modern cooperage industry continues to exist and was the only real reason it continued to exist in a world with stainless steel and other synthetic materials that do not react outweigh the benefits of the wooden barrel in all other categories. Why are wooden barrels still used?

If the use of wooden barrels to store wine had not been made common through the many years when the only practical way to store large amounts of wine, it is not likely that vintners of today would have considered adding the flavor and dimensions of oak flavor to their wines. In other words, it is a happy coincidence that wood is used to improve the flavor of wine, providing a more complex texture and flavor than if the drink were stored in a container that is totally nonreactive. What is it that an oak, the only type of wood used in storage of fine wines, almost without exception, imparts to the wine to improve and enhance it. Wine benefits from storage in oak wooden barrels in two ways. For the red wines, barrel aging offers controlled oxidation. This gradual process can help to decrease the astringency while also increasing the stability and color of the wine. It allows the fruit aromas to evolve into more complex ones. By using a program of topping with wine or filling the barrel while it is in the barrel and then racking the wine out of one barrel and into another for clarification, there is just enough oxygen added to the wine to provide these effects over several months.

Second, inside the oak there are several classes of complex chemicals each that can add to the flavor and textural not to both white and red wines. Most familiar include the vanilla flavors, notes of tea or tobacco, sweet and toasty aromas and the overall structural complexity offered by tannin, which mingles with tannin from the fruit used in making red wine. These compounds add delightful nuances in a finished wine. They include volatile phenols that contain vanillin, degradation of carbohydrate products that contain furfural, components that yield a sweet and toasty aroma, oak lactones that impart a woody aroma, terpenes that provide the tobacco or tea notes, and hydrolysable tannins that are essential to the mouth feel or astringency of the wine. The chemistry of the oak barrel selected can impart different qualities and amounts of texture and flavor, depending on the method of manufacturing it as well as the type of oak used. American oak offers different flavors than French Oak. If the slats are sawn it provides a different result than if it were sawn. Staves that are air dried are different from those dried using the heat of a kiln. Even the method of bending the staves provides important variables in the manufacturing process.

Every winemaker around the world seems to hold an opinion as to the best type of processes in manufacturing a barrel to add the best flavor to the wine. However, all agree is that barrel making is a complex craft and there are no amateurs in the craft. The Craft of the Cooper The term cooper traces back to barrel makers of Cisalpine and Illyria in Gual. There, wine was stored in wooden vessels referred to as cupals and the maker was called a cuparius. Anyone with the surname of Hooper or Cooper probably can find ancestors who spend their days working in the ancient craft of cooperage. Guilds of coopers organized first in Rome years before the birth of Christ. They flourished and grew throughout medieval Europe, reaching their apex in membership in the late 1800s, but dwindled rapidly in the time following WWI, as other materials, including metals and later synthetics began to replace wooden vessels that were once used in many places in the home for washing, eating, choking churning and storage. In order to better understand why the profession is so specialized and highly skilled, continuing to require a seven year apprenticeship today, consider the steps required in making a wine barrel.

The tools and procedure have remained virtually unchanged over the past three hundred years. How Wine Barrels are Made The cooper begins with the selection of the tree. The tree must be the right species and most prefer the French oak Quercus robur, from the other 400 species of oaks that live on planet earth. This particular species is easily found in eastern and central France, grown on government managed and owned forests and sold periodically at auction. The best trees are from forests in cool climates that allow the tree to grow slowly, producing a tighter grain than trees which grow more quickly in Limousin. Vosges, Nevers, Allier, and Troncais are the preferred forests. Other good sources for this type of wood include Slavonia and even Russia, however the most prestigious barrels are created out of French oak. For the best choices in wood, trees in the forest should be closely spaced, to promote growth of the wood with no knots and straight grain. These differences in the structure of the tree create differences that are noticeable in the taste imparted to the finished wine. They are an important factor in how the winery achieves its own goals for each wine that will be fermented or aged in the barrel.

The tree should be a minimum of 100 years of age, have a straight trunk free of blemishes and be approximately five feet in circumference. Height is less important, as the only usable part in barrel making is that extending from the ground to the lowest lateral branch. With careful planning each tree will make two to four barrels. The next step is to measure the trunk into usable lengths for the oak barrel staves. These are the narrow pieces of wood that form the sides of any barrel. The cooper has the choice of creating a Burgundian barrel or a Bordeaux Barrel. Either of the shapes is designed to contain approximately sixty gallons of wine. The differences in shape and size between the two seem to have no definite reason other than that of tradition. One explanation is that since most Burgundian cellars are located underground, slightly rounder barrels work better and roll easier. The shorter size is also easier to fit through the inside doorways of the cellar. A second possibility is that white wines, fermented in Burgundian barrels contain more sediment from the expended yeast cells or lees and a bigger bulge in the barrel is more effective at concentrating such sediments.

Regardless, the type of wood and the craftsmanship remain the same for either type of barrel that will be used to store wine. At Simi, the choice between Burgundian or Bordeaux shaped barrels is left to the discretion of the winemaker for Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, or Chardonnay. That choice is based on the particular style characteristics the cooperage imparts into the barrel For example, if a certain batch of grapes offer better character as ripe fruit but lacks spiciness, the winemaker might select a François Fréres barrel to add dimension. If it lacks the length of finish, the winemaker might use a Taransaud (barrique), and for wines needing more weight on the palate to provide better balance he might select a Damy barrel (piéce). Each wine lot, whether red or white is enriched in flavor and enhanced in balance by the barrel selected for its fermentation or aging. However a barrel that starts life with a white can only be used for whites and the same for red wine barrels. This is one place where the barrels cannot be interchanged. The logs are now hand split, first into halves, followed by quarters, eights and finally into the exact size of the stave.

While it is possible to double the number of usable staves by sawing the logs, this can increase the tannin and astringency of the barrel, often to a level too high to be acceptable. At this point in the process, it is time to take a break, as the hand cut rough staves require three to five years of open air drying. While drying could be accomplished faster in a kiln, speeding the process in this manner increases the chances that the barrel will leak and allows more tannins to be leached from the wood, causing the wine to have a finer, softer finish. While the wood must dry, it is rotated on the stack of rough cut staves, and sprinkled with water periodically to keep the final level of the wood’s humidity at the 15% range. This is essential to top quality air-dried rough staves. Next, using these good quality, air-dried staves, it is possible to form finely finished staves that will be used to form the barrel. Each stave will be cut to a precise length and tapered at the ends, allowing them to fit together snugly once the barrel is curved into its final shape.

Then the inside flat part of the stave is hollowed out. For assembly of the barrel, the staves are fitted onto a frame and arranged around an iron hoop. At this point in construction, the barrel resembles a teepee, with staves splaying out from the hoop at the top. In order for the barrel to be shaped, the staves must be bent so they can be bound into a second iron hoop at the bottom. Simi’s preference is that the cooper use an open oak wood chip fire instead of a gas fire, steam or boiling water. The wood chips help to impart a toasty flavor to the wine that is going to age in the barrel. The cooper will toast each barrel without the lid in place for 40 minutes at approximately 325 degrees F. However, these are only guidelines. Coopers develop their own sense of what will be best to toast the barrel in order to create the best of characteristics possible. Next the cooper will make flat ends for the barrel and slide them into the grooves located at the top and bottom of the side staves. The temporary hoops are then removed and permanent ones will replace them. The barrel is scraped and sanded to create a smooth exterior.

Cold water is added into the barrel and air pressure is used to test for any leaks. Each barrel is then proudly imprinted with the cooper’s brand. A completed barrel cost depends on the exchange rate, but is normally between $550 and $650 US. The Barrel Arrives at the Winery The life of the barrel just begins once it arrives at a winery. Normally, they are shipped in a container that includes about 150 barrels and arrives sometime between June and August. The barrel will have the bung hole sealed using a wooden bung and burlap. The seal is used to keep contamination from entering the barrel but allows enough air exchange to keep the barrel inside dry and fresh. Regardless of the care of the cooper in creating the barrel, it will be thoroughly inspected when received at the winery. It is essential that the barrel is sound. It should be clean and smell good inside. The inside of the wood that forms the barrel must meet standards for smoothness of finish, toast level and be completely tight so it has no possibilities of leaks. Each incoming barrel is subjected to two different types of inspections.

The initial inspection is one in which the Cellarmaster tests the barrel for structural integrity by checking its fit and finish, length and thickness of staves, size of bung and fit and by checking for external splinters or cracks. The Enologist then scrutinizes the inside of each barrel in the entire shipment to ensure that the barrel is toasted to the specified level (either light, medium or heavy), to ensure there are no blisters or char due to excess humidity or overheating during the process of toasting and to ensure the wood grain is consistent and tight in its fit. He will also check to see if paste or reeds have been used in repairing any small cracks or other holes and to determine if the reeds used remain intact. Finally, he will note any uneven planning inside the barrel or any internal knots. Congratulations, your barrel has passed our inspection. It will now be marked to identify the vineyard and varietal origin of the wine to be stored in the barrel, and keep a complete history of any treatments the barrel may receive during its life as a wine barrel at Simi. Each barrel will be stenciled with its cooperage designation and the year it was delivered to the winery.

Once the crush starts, and grapes are brought into the winery for pressing and fermentation (for Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc) or fermented and the pressed (for Cabernet Sauvignon), the crew will move into action, rinsing the barrels, and soaking the end pieces or heads. Then each barrel will have five to six gallons of hot water pumped inside and be sealed using a silicone bung. Each barrel is then rotated end to end for approximately 20 minutes before the bung is pulled. Barrels that are completely liquid tight should have created a vacuum as water cooled and there will be an audible rush of air proving it to be sound. The barrel will be filled with wine or juice for fermentation. Cabernet Sauvignon is fermented before going into the barrel, but Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc is fermented in the barrel. From this point forward, the barrel will be regularly and rigorously monitored by the cellar master. These programs of cleaning and inspection continue while the barrel is filled and when it is resting between harvests to ensure the barrel continues enhancing the wine and does not develop problems that might interfere with the quality of the wine stored in it. Of course, nothing lasts forever, even the best made barrel.

At Simi, white wine barrels are used six to seven years and red wine barrels are replaced after five years. After these time frames, the oak has few, if any beneficial flavor components that can be imparted to the wine and is essential a neutral container. Since it is still a sound container for wine, it is usually sold to another winery wanting it for use as a storage container. The final phase of the barrel’s life includes being cut in half and sold for use as a flower planter, normally at about $10 US per planter. While your barrel is no more, the wine which aged in it can still be enjoyed by the connoisseur. They will note the rich notes of clove, caramel, almond, vanilla and toast due to the hard work of the cooper. These nuances of complexity are added by wine barrels that were individually manufactured years before.

Question: Since Roman times wine barrels are most commonly made from?
Answer: Oak