02/22/06 Oak barrels

Welcome to Vine to Wine, this is your host Linda Moran. On today's program, we're going to explore the tradition of the oak barrel in winemaking. Historically, the wooden barrel was used to store and transport just about everything. However, today the primary use of wood barrels is in the production of wine and spirits. Wooden barrels, primarily oak, are still in very high demand worldwide by winemakers seeking to add dimension and value to their premium wines. Winemakers will pay top dollar for what they believe is the secret ingredient, after great fruit of course, and that is the quality oak barrel. French oak barrels seem to have the best reputation and a price tag to match. And although the export of French wines fluctuates the barrel coopers have seen incredible prosperity from the world's demand for French oak barrels. Despite the relatively small size of a wine barrel and the time and effort needed to fill. empty and clean them, the winemaker deems the character that it imparted to the wines to be well worth the effort. It is not completely understood why, but oak seems to have a special affinity for enhancing wine more than any other wood. Oak is quite supple even though it is strong, hard and watertight. Researchers will be busy for a long while trying to understand the complicated relationship between flavors and physical properties of different types of oak and different varietals of wine. Remember to send your wine questions to Linda at vine to wine dot net and thanks for joining me on today's Vine to Wine.