Photo: Shutterstock/Alfonso Soler
Text by: Gleb King
One of the most influential vessels the wine passes through – is the barrel. As most of us already know – initially, the barrels were used for transportation. So, the wood gave its flavor to some of the first wines in Ancient Greece and winemakers decided to put the wine into wood for taste. Now, the barrels for winemakers are almost the same as spices for a chef – their kinds, sizes and types help to form the wine character. Here are 5 lesser known facts about wine barrels.
1. Woods and forests
There are three main types of oak suitable for wine aging: French, American and Eastern European. The French oak is mainly sourced from 5 historically known woods in France: Allier, Troncais, Limousine, Vosges and Nevers. Most of them are home for Quercus Petraea or Sessile Oak, but in Limousine wood there’s Quercus Robur or English oak. Western USA and Canada are famous for White Oak or Quercus Alba, which is also called American Oak. Eastern European oak is sourced from Russian, Romanian, Hungarian and Slovakian forests. Both Quercus Petraea and Quercus Robur grow there. American oak barrels are known for coconut and vanilla scents in wine. French oak brings spice – mostly cinnamon and cloves.
2. Not only oak
Although wine aging is mostly associated with oak, there are several different types of wood suitable for this process. Winemakers in Southern Europe, for instance, sometimes use chestnut barrels and in many other countries – there is another alternative for oak – acacia. The least adds to wine a lot of tropical flavors, so it must be used moderately. In California some winemakers used to age wine in sequoia barrels. Another option is a cherry barrel. Though, all types of wood, mentioned above, can’t compete with oak regarding speed of oxidation. Oak has very small pores that allow very slow and moderate oxygen exchange. This is why grape vine and oak trees are a perfect team.
3. Size matters
Naturally, wine barrels were invented for transportation. So, in some cases their sizes correspond to their vehicle’s size and lifting capacity. Almost every wine region has its own traditional wine barrel type. The bigger the barrel – the slower and more gentle the aging process goes. Here are some of the most popular sizes.
Barrique (225 l)
French standard from Bordeaux used almost everywhere in the World. Four barriques form a tonneau – measure, used in merchant navy vessels as lifting capacity unit.
Piece (228 l)
Pronounced «pyes» with stress on «e». This barrel type is also called a barrique but this is a standard from Burgundy. 3 more liters added to let the wine age longer on sediment. After some evaporation winemakers believed to get the volume of 225 l.
Hogshead (300 l)
These barrels use an inch measuring system, so their capacity is approximately 300 liters (79 gallons). They are usually made of American wood and used in the New World’s wine regions.
Demi-muid (600 l)
Standard size for barrels used in southern France’s regions (Côtes du Rhône, Châteauneuf-du-Pape).
Botti (600 - 6500 l)
Italian wine barrels are called botti. There are many sizes of them, starting from 500-600 l – to huge monsters up to 6000-7000 liters. Such barrels are mostly made of Slavonian oak and sometimes are in the shape of an oval.
Foudre (2000 l)
Foudre is a barrel type, used in Alsace and other northern France regions.
4. Old vs new
Reading some wine’s review, you may find out that it’s aged in new barrels. What does that mean? Literally – the newer the barrel – the fresher and stronger the barrel aroma in wine. So, if a winemaker decides to add a lot of barrel character to wine, he or she uses the new wood. After 3-4 years of use the barrels become «neutral» and correspond almost no oak scents to wine, only letting it oxidize. However, with age, the wood pores become clogged with tartaric acid crystals and let in less oxygen, meaning that aging in them becomes slower.
5. Fire in the hole!
Like with coffee grains – toasting is one of the main steps to form a flavor. Wine barrels are toasted with open fire. Yes, the process itself is very spectacular, but also it brings a lot of character. There are 3 main kinds of toasted barrels – light, medium and dark. The light toasted barrels give the wine vanilla and coconut flavors. The longer they’re toasted – the more spicy and smoky the future wine’s character will be.
