HOW BARRELS ARE MADE

The story of an oak barrel ultimately begins with the tree from which the wood came. A tree, like a grapevine, is affected by climate. In cold, dry climates, a tree grows slowly, forming a narrow growth ring for that year. In wetter, warmer climates, a tree grows more quickly and the growth ring is wider. The widths of all the rings together become the wood's grain. A tree with mostly wide rings is loosely grained; a tree with mostly narrow rings is tightly grained.

Because the wood inside a narrow ring is more dense than that inside a wide ring, flavor is extracted from a narrow ring more gradually. Winemakers generally prefer this, for in wines aged in barrels made from narrow-ring, tight-grained oak, the oak character is usually better integrated into the wine and the overall flavor of oak is more mellow. This is why barrels made from trees that grow in the French forests of Troncais, Vosges, and never are so sought after. All three forests are cool and dry and thus are known for their narrow-ring, tight grained oaks. The forest of Troncais, in particular, was planted in the late 1600s as a source of superior ship masts for the French navy. Though American oak is not designated by the forest from which it came, the best American oak also comes from cool places, such as Minnesota and Iowa.

In addition to the species of oak used (French or American), the manner in which a barrel is made significantly affects the flavor of a wine. An oak tree is generally harvested when it is one hundred years old or more. For centuries, the traditional European practice-still used today by the best coopers-has been to hand split the oak into staves along natural grain lines, then air-dry and season the staves by leaving them stacked outdoors, exposed to sun and rain for two or three years. During this period when the wood is unprotected, the harshest tannin is gradually leached out-ultimately to the benefit of the wine.

The next step is to fit the staves together as tightly as possible. An imperfect seam could result in a leaky barrel or one that allows considerable oxygen to seep between the staves, oxidizing and spoiling the wine. To form a barrel, a cooper using the traditional European method heats the staves over an open fire to make them pliable enough to bend into shape. This is still done entirely by hand with only the help of winches and chains, as well as iron rings that must be hammered into place and act like belts holding the staves together. It is backbreaking work. A top cooper working swiftly can make just one barrel a day. The fire that helps bend the staves also "toasts" them, caramelizing the wood's natural sugar into toasty, spicy, vanilla flavors, which are ultimately imparted to the wine. Like breakfast toast in a coffee shop, winemakers can order their barrels lightly, moderately, or well-toasted, depending on the degree of toasty flavor they want to impart.

Second method

In addition to this traditional European method, there is a second method-one which, while sharply criticized today, has been used extensively, especially in the past for American oak barrels. In this method, the staves are quickly dried in a kiln rather than outdoors over the course of years. Although expeditious, .kiln drying does not have the tannin-leaching or seasoning effect that air drying has. As a result, kiln-dried barrels tend to impart coarse flavors. This doesn't matter too much if the liquid Inside Is bourbon, but If It's chardonnay, the result can taste terrible. The staves for American barrels have usually been bent over steam rather than fire.

Barrels with steam-bent staves impart a far less complex, less toasty character to wine than barrels made from fire-bent staves.

(Think of the difference between boiled beef and grilled beef.) The world of American oak barrel making is changing, however. Since the mld-1990s, the best American oak barrels have been made according to the traditional European method

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WHAT OAK DOES

Without oak, many wines as we know them would not exist. They would not taste the same, smell the same, or have the same texture. Nor are there substitutes for oak. Cherry, walnut, chestnut, pine, and many other woods can all be made into barrels; none, however, enhances wine the way oak does. Nor has technology devised an oak alternative. In short, wine and oak-inseparable for the last two millennia of winemaking-show every sign of remaining married. Why is there a special affinity between oak and wine? Oak has the ability to transform wine, to coax it out of the genre of simple fermented fruit juice and give it depth, length, complexity, and intensity.

Oak wood is composed of several classes of complex chemical compounds, which also leave their mark on a wine's aroma, flavor, and texture. The most noticeable of these are phenols, some of which impart vanilla-like flavors, notes of tea and tobacco, and impressions of sweetness. One of the most important classes of phenols is the substances commonly called tannin.

The impact oak has on wine depends, among other things, on th type of oak used and the way the barrel was made.

Of the four hundred species of oak trees that grow around the world, three main types are used in winemaking: the American oak Quercus alba (mainly from the Midwest) and the French oaks Quercus robur and Quercus sessiliflora (from central and  eastern France). The flavor American oak imparts to wine is quite different from the flavor French oak imparts to wine; American oak tends to be more pronounced and vanillin; French oak, more subtle. Neither is necessarily better than the other in the same way the basil isn't necessarily better than rosemary. The idea is to find a type of oak that will best show off the fruit flavors in a given wine. To determine this, winemakers age small lots of their wines in several different oaks from different forests and a variety of coopers in both countries and then see which ones work best.

A winemaker can choose to put a wine into new barrels, used barrels, or a combination of new and used barrels. Although the extraction rate of vanilla and oak flavors differs based on tile grain of the wood, most barrels impart little flavor after four to six years of use. Also, some wines leave layers of natural deposits on the insides of the barrels, which, over time, shield a wine from any wood contact whatsoever.

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WHAT IS OAK WOOD

Oak wood is one of the most valued and desired types of wood for three seats and flooring but there are several types of oak wood and not all are the same. For that reason it is highly important to be well informed about different types of oak wood, their properties and uses because carefully chosen oak furniture, for instance, can last for several generations.

Like its name suggests, oak wood is obtained from oak but there are over 600 oak species and not all of them are used for furniture making and flooring only. Oak genus includes large deciduous oak trees most people are familiar with as well as small shrub-like species. All oak species are native to northern hemisphere from cold latitudes to tropical areas of Asia and America but not all of them are used for wood. Oak trees are hardwoods which mean that they are strong and hard yet easy to work with which makes oak wood very useful for both furniture making and a variety of other wood objects. In addition, oak wood is one of the densest naturally occurring materials, while high content of tannin makes it resistant to both fungal diseases and insects. It has a density of about 0.75 grams per cubic centimeter. For example, pine wood has a density of 0.43 grams per cubic centimeter.

Oak wood has been highly valued since the middle Ages for its strength and durability as well as highly attractive grain markings when quarter-sawn. It has been used for garden furniture making, staircase designs and construction as well as interior paneling. One of the finest examples is the oak panels in the debating chamber of the House of Commons. Oak wood from species Quercus petraea and Quercus robur was also used in shipbuilding until the 19th century when wood was slowly replaced by iron and other metals.

Both European and American oak species are also used for making barrels for ageing of a number of wines, brandy, and whiskey including Scotch whiskey, while the bark of Cork oak (Quercus suber) that grows in the Mediterranean countries is used for making corks. Of the American species, the Northern red oak (Quercus rubra) and White Oak (Quercus alba) are the most sought after. The Northern red oak is particularly valued for its highly attractive color  but it is not appropriate for outdoor use such as garden furniture because its large openings make it vulnerable to fungal infestation.

Of the European oak trees, wood from Quercus robur also known as English Oak (although it is found in most parts of Europe and even North Africa) is the most popular oak wood for interior use and park furniture because of its durability and highly attractive dark and light brown rings. Quercus petraea or the Sessile oak, on the other hand, is more popular for making wine barrels and timber framing.

Oak wood has one disadvantage. Oak trees mature very slowly, white the acorns that contain seeds do not appear until the oak tree is mature and may take many years before start growing which is why oak wood is relatively expensive

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