What barrel for what wine?
A wine’s grape variety must be taken into account, and the nature of the vintage. When in contact with the wood, wine undergoes many changes. The choice of wine for aging must be taken into account because it is not the barrel that will determine the final quality of the wine. The aroma of the wine develops first and becomes more complex upon contact with the wood. The wood yields many of its inherent substances to the wine, or substances that are formed during the heating of the barrels when manufactured. There then follows a range of transformations and slow, controlled oxidation thanks to the porosity of the wood. Then, in moderate quantities, the wood yields its extractable and aromatic components. Louis Pasteur, at the request of Napoleon III in 1863, was the first to study the phenomenon of oxidation-reduction. He had been instructed to find the reasons for wine spoilage. He found that wine, even when carefully protected from contact with air, would absorb oxygen and this can hap
