Barrel Tasting 2024

From vine to barrel to bottle… But why bother waiting for that bottling part?

The magic of Barrel Tasting is to get into the cellar and taste wines directly from the barrels. Sample wines as fresh as you can get and be the very first to ever sip on an unreleased wine. New vintages. New releases. New flavors you might never get a chance to try again before we bottle.

One of the main advantages of drinking wine straight from the barrel is the opportunity to taste the wine in its most authentic form - while wine is still evolving and working towards a more harmonious whole. Once it's bottled, it will continue to develop even further. So when you taste wine from the barrel, you're getting a snapshot of its journey, which can be incredibly insightful for any wine connoisseur. Drinking wine straight from the barrel also allows some small parts to evaporate and some of the volatile compounds to dissipate like sulfides and sulfites, this makes the wine more enjoyable as these compounds can sometimes contribute to off-flavors in the taste, an Achilles heel of winemaking that we all have to keep an eye out for.

Romans were some of the first to use barrels for storing wine, replacing the original animal skin casks and pottery qvevri containers. Albeit, they would only use barrels for transporting wine rather than for aging. It wasn’t until around the 19th century that ancient wine-lovers started noticing that wooden barrels could be used to subtly impart flavor into the wine itself when aged inside…

In fact, depending on what kind of wood was used for the barrel, winemakers could drastically change the resulting wine!

Oak is the most popular choice for wine barrels.

This choice of wood causes wine to intake oxygen at a slower rate resulting in a smoother, less tart wine. Not only is it a sturdy and porous wood, but it departs flavors consistently and strongly. Though the exact flavors, will depend on whether the oak comes from America or France, Quercus robur vs Quercus alba. American oaks gives wine a much stronger taste and strengthens aromas, vanilla, clove, and coconut flavors. French oak, on the hand, leaves a subtler influence, a hint of spice delicately added. Though both types are oak wood, being able to differentiate the two by taste is a hallmark of a wine expert.

Besides the common oak barrel though, Acacia wood barrels is becoming a rising star in the industry.

Acacia uniquely has an innate resistance towards rotting from the moisture of the wine due to it’s natural oils. Similarly to oak, it also imparts notes of vanilla and coconut to the wine, but adds it’s own hints of floral aromas. Most importantly for winemaking though, acacia is remarkably low in tannins compared to other woods. This unique lack of tannin means winemakers can age wine longer in acacia barrels without having to worry about an over-abundance of tannins in the end product. While not as popular as the flavorful oak barrels, acacia still stands as a strong contender in the wine industry and is considered an ideal barrel for white wines.

For those looking for something less traditional though, Cherry wood barrels is always worth a mention.

A much softer wood than oak, it’s less popular due to it’s looser grain structure causing wine to oxidize faster than it would with other woods. For winemakers who want to take the risk though, this type of barrel imparts a distinctive sweet flavoring to the wine aged inside. Almost as if it was cherry flavored, wines aged in cherry wood can have a one-of-a-kind fruity taste and velvety texture, only when it’s done right though. This type of barrel is the definition of high-risk-high-reward. Taste if you dare.

So while your barrel tasting, try guessing which type of wood your wine was aged in!

You might find yourself surprised at how much wine is affected by wood, and tasting straight from the barrel is the best way to tell. Albeit, remember not to get wrapped up in just the taste.

Drinking wine straight from the barrel is not just about tasting the wine; it's about appreciating the craftsmanship that goes into creating each unique vintage. Barrel tasting showcases the process of winemaking to tasters in it’s most upfront form. When you drink from the barrel, you step into the shoes of the winemakers who monitor and check these wines daily. No longer are you just a taster, you are the first tasters of a brand new vintage, one that will never taste quite the same afterwards. You become part of the journey of winemaking itself.

It’s a delicious journey we’re delighted to take with you.

Plan now to taste…then buy the future!

After you sample from the barrel, most wineries will also have a few current vintage wines for you to try, so you can buy wine to take home…to hold you over, while waiting for those “futures” to get bottled!