Oak wine barrels or how to get delicious wine from a barrel

On one of the excursions in France, I was told about how an oak barrel can really affect the taste of wine and how to get wine with excellent taste using the classic method, I will tell you about this in a slightly clever and informative article.

The Romans were the first to use oak barrels for wine, the purpose of such a container, of course, was the transportation and storage of wine. The advantages of a light and strong barrel over a heavy and fragile clay barrel were obvious.

Now that stainless steel and concrete have replaced the barrel, the importance of the barrel has become more controversial. However, its role in quality winemaking remains, of course, indisputably important.

Oak wine barrel or steel barrel, which is better to choose?

Not all winemakers in France use oak barrels for wine. It should be said that this is an expensive pleasure, since the price for one French oak barrel is about 450 - 800 euros, and even in a small winery, you will not get by with one or several wine barrels, it will take much more, and this is a considerable cost.

Moreover, the park of oak barrels needs to be renewed every 3 years, since in the early years the barrel tends to “share” tannins (tannins are the aromatic components of the barrel wood), and then the effect of tannin on the wine decreases. And be aware that not all wine has a positive effect from an oak barrel - for example, all white wines are more often aged in a steel barrel or even concrete in order to preserve all the freshness and aroma of the wine.

Why an oak barrel?

And yet, why an oak barrel? In the process of aging the wine in the barrel through the fine pores of the wood, the wine can breathe, and oxygen is enriched. As a result, the wine becomes softer and more harmonious in taste. The aromas of wine undergo changes, interacting with the aromas of the barrel - hence the aged and tart taste.

The most important role is played by the degree of fire roasting of the barrel and the size of the wine barrel. When wood is processed with fire, the structure of the tree changes, the sugar contained in the wood is caramelized, some unnecessary aromatic components are completely removed.

But a very strong burning of wood is not suitable for any wine, the taste of wine with such a burning can be changed by too harsh and hard woody tannins from a new barrel. Therefore, all winemakers use wine aging of different durations and in barrels of different degrees of roasting, the taste always turns out to be completely different.

The larger the barrel, the slower the oxidation, and the less impact the wood barrel has on the taste of the wine. Smaller oak barrels release much more tannins, tannins transfer from wood to wine during aging and can often mix their own amazing wine aroma. So, all winemakers make constant experiments on the aging time of wines in new barrels.

Where do you get oak for barrels?

The best woods for making oak barrels are considered to be the Tronsey and Limousin forests of France. Their wood is rich in extractives, it is very dense and therefore the barrel does not leak. The oaks of the Tronsey forests have a porous fine-grained structure, with rather soft tannins, the wood of the Limousin forests is even more porous, medium-grained, tannins are known for their strength and power.

These forests are controlled by the National Forestry Committee, the timber is put up for auction, where French barrel producers come for it.

The process of preparing oak for a wine barrel

Barrel production is a laborious and time-consuming process. The quality of the cask very often depends on many factors and the professionalism of the caskers. Therefore, in France, the pottery business has long traditions, its own style, secrets are often inherited, and a good workshop will always have clients.

It is very important how the wood for the wine barrel was cut, how the rivets were dried, what was used in the bending process - steam or water ... First, the trunks of 100-year-old oaks are selected, and only their lower part is used. The barrel is cut in half, then in two more and so on until the plates of the required size are obtained, the so-called rivets are the main components of the barrel.

Rivets dry for a long time in the open air, washed by rains, for 3 - 5 years. As a result, excess tannin leaves, the rivets will gain reliability and will not leak. Then the plates are clamped at the ends so that they fit as tightly as possible to each other and do not leave holes and gaps. All workpieces are fastened with 2 or 4 metal hoops.

The ends of all rivets are bent (steam or fire is used for bending) and a second hoop is put on from below. Before inserting the bottom, the barrel is fired. According to the degree of roasting, wine barrels are divided into several categories - this is the category of light roasting of the wine barrel and the category of strong roasting.

An ideally accurate bottom is installed in an oak barrel for wine, and a second bottom is also sometimes installed for structural reliability, and the final touch is a hole for draining the liquid (wine, cognac). Now the barrel is ready and can be sent to the winemaker to produce real and tasty wine.

I hope this article was helpful to everyone who loves wine tours in France or has been through the wine regions of France. By the way, be sure to read the article on which wine to choose with meat and other dishes. You can also read about the Alsace Wine Route.

The real standards for the volume of oak barrels in France

In different regions, there are different containers for aging real delicious wine, according to the traditions of each region:

• Bordeaux barrel has a volume of 225 liters
• Burgundy barrel has a volume of exactly 228 liters
• The cognac barrel has a volume of 205 liters

Now you know what oak wine barrels are and how to get delicious wine from a barrel. Travel yourself, travel around France with travel-picture.ru, subscribe to fascinating articles about tourism and the world will become closer to you.