Barrels and Oaking

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It’s Better With Barrels

There is a reason so many of the pros use oak barrels. Learn about the benefits of a barrel, as well as how to choose the right barrel for y

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Tips for Using Barrel Alternatives

If you don’t have a barrel to put your wine in, then put a barrel alternative in your wine. Two experts share advice for getting the most

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Making Wine with Mahogany

A home winemaker and woodworker got the idea that mahogany may lend itself nicely to wine in place of oak. This simple idea led him on a yea

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Lifespan of a Wine Barrel

Wine barrels are constantly changing. Each time one is filled it will lose some characteristics and, eventually after enough uses, it will g

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Oak Yeah!? When and why to add oak to wine

Adding oak to a wine can add an amazing depth of character or it can detract from the fruit. Learn some keys to managing the oak in your win

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Small Batch Barrels

Barrels offer a lot more benefits to wine than just oak taste and tannins, but full-size barrels are often out of reach for the home winemak

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Beyond the Barrel

If a barrel isn’t in your immediate winemaking plans — or if your barrel has been filled so many times it has become neutral in oak char

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Oak Barrel Care: Tips From the Pros

Owning your own oak barrel can yield great rewards when handled properly. We asked the advice of two professionals that know what it takes t

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Topping Up & Oak Cubes

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The Essential Ins and Outs of Oak Barrels

Aging your wine in an oak barrel can do wonders for your wine. It can also ruin it. Before you dive in head first, learn all there is to kno

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Prepping Your First Barrel

Tips for beginners on how to prepare their first barrel.

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Used Spirit Barrel Experiment

Is aging wine in a barrel that once held spirits totally off limits? One hobby winemaker made some experimental wines to test it out.

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How to Build a Barrel

An amateur barrel maker shares his advice to build your own wine barrel at home.

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Year in a Life of a Wine Part VI (Bulk Aging and Bottling)

In the final installment of our year-long series, the wines are bulk aged, oaked, and bottled.

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Post-Fermentation Wine Tweaks

Sometimes, a wine you believed would be balanced during fermentation comes up a little short after fermentation is complete. Learn what you

Oak Alternatives

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Wooden it be Lovely?

Oak barrels bring more to wine than flavor. Learn the ins and outs of oak barrels, from how they are made, how to choose the perfect one for

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Adding Oak: Tips from the Pros

Winemaker John Fletcher of Hillside Estate Winery in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia, Canada offers his thoughts on adding oak to yo