…Barrels of wine float on the sea
will they reach, no one knows
it’s a pity only when it gets destroyed
wine…when it spills…
Clay Amphorae
In ancient times, clay amphorae were used for storing wine as well as for its transport, which, as one might easily guess, would break on a bumpy road. Initially, therefore, Europeans replaced clay amphorae with barrels made from fruit tree wood. However, a number of years proved to us that oak is the best for making barrels.
…In a clay amphora, wine sways
it’s sweet red tasty and what do I hear…
that it’s surprisingly sweet in the barrel
it will delight everyone… everyone will be happy…
The Influence of the Oak Barrel
Oak wood, as we know, possesses a natural set of resinous aromas. It can therefore have a slightly vanilla, clove, and even tobacco scent. The Celts, as well as younger inhabitants of the Old Continent, knew that wine stored in oak barrels could additionally be aromatized with the resinous scent of the barrel in which it was contained. Ancient inhabitants of Europe also burned wooden barrels during their production. This fact, as one might easily guess, adds an additional range of, this time, burnt sweet scents to the wine in that barrel. Wine aged in wooden barrels for a longer period is enriched with various mixed aromas, tastes, and scents.
…In a large barrel, aromas
with wine come into the cottage
in an old cottage in the corner of the house
drink this wine secretly…
Fermentation
From the beginning of the Middle Ages, great importance was attached to the mandatory fermentation of the wine contained in the barrel. In wooden barrels, people perfectly controlled the temperature of this beverage and, of course, its sweetness. The fruit must in the wooden barrel increased its volume, producing appropriate aromatic esters, which, of course, influenced the taste of the wine. Must in clay barrels most often lost its properties.
Types of Barrels
Oak wine barrels were made for a very long time according to the ancient Celtic “cooper’s art” of their creation. For their production, planks of pedunculate oak are most often used. They are then sealed, or simply, “caulked” with sweet flag. Such barrels are never glued. Sometimes these barrels were additionally resin-coated so that they would not leak either wine or sauerkraut juice, which could also be found in such a barrel. Their permeability was checked in river currents.
After removing such a barrel from the river, it had to be dried necessarily in the open air. When various insects flew to it, it indicated its truly incredible scent and aroma.
