Barrels (of fun)

For decades, distillers have aged Scotch in bourbon barrels; recently gin, beer, and even maple syrup have gotten in on the action. Wine, however, has a long history of standard oak barrel-aging.  Bourbon barrels by law need to be 100 percent new American oak, and heavily charred, there is an amazing amount of flavor remaining in the wood. The bourbon barrels used by winemakers are therefore likely single-use vessels, more aggressively charred than traditional wine-aging barrels.  Bourbon barrels are slightly taller and skinnier than standard oak barriques, increasing the wine-to-wood ratio. Wines have long been aged in oak barrels to improve their flavor, texture, and aromas. Typically, a wine will be aged in barrels that are both new and used. The new barrels are often made from American white oak or French oak and have been toasted over an open fire for 30-40 minutes. The used barrels are simply used wine barrels from previous vintages that stay in production for 6-7 years. There is a lot involved in making wine and the barrel is just one component of the process. Bourbon barrel aged wines tend to be very aromatic with lots of vanilla and caramel notes coming from the barrel. They also tend to be slightly higher in alcohol because of the bourbon that was still in the barrel after it was dumped. The bourbon character isn’t exactly noticeable but it does add a certain “jammyness” to the fruit flavors that I particularly enjoy. It’s a good balance. This trend will continue, recently tequila barrels sold to a winery that plans to age Chardonnay in them. They are wanting to extract the minerality and earthiness from the agave that is used to make tequila.

Farina Wine Club was able to taste a few of these Bourbon barrel wines and we had some hits. It is definitely worth the fun of trying something new.