To talk about barriques, let's start from the origins: the barrel has existed since the dawn of civilization; at school we learned that the Danaids were condemned to fill a bottomless barrel; of Diogenes who had chosen a barrel as a comfortable studio apartment. The Romans, great traders, did not use barrels and used amphorae for their transport; the first staved barrel is attributed to the Allobroges, a Celtic population that settled between Geneva and Grenoble. The amphorae weighed as much as their contents, while the barrels of the Allobroges, in addition to being less fragile, significantly changed the relationship between container and contents. Once these barrels were discovered by other Mediterranean populations, the use of amphorae ceased and barrels were used, which loaded onto special carts could be transported to the docks and then shipped to the most distant ports, both river and sea. Many of these transporters became innkeepers; when Correzze (in central France) produced wine, quite a few current, after having brought wine to Bordeaux they opened “taverns” in this city.
The right woods for excellent wines
In France, wine continued to be transported in barrels even after the discovery of the bottle and it took a decree from King Louis XV to have the first shipment of wine in bottles: it was November 17, 1733. That wood can give the contents something that modifies or enriches their qualities is something no one can deny today. And denying it, among other things, would mean clashing with the producers of Traditional Balsamic Vinegar (strictly with a capital B) who use as many as five different woods for their barrels: chestnut, oak, mulberry, cherry and black locust (the latter can also vary with other woods). Article 316 of the French Wine Code states that wine must be marketed in barrels and it is mandatory to specify the type: Bordeaux, Mâconnais, Burgundy and so on. From this we can deduce that “botte”, “fût”, “barrique”, “caratello” are nothing more than containers. Fortuitous events, but we should not take advantage of them, have made other advantages known in woods. The debate on whether it is positive or not is still current. Supporters and detractors confront each other in respect of a tradition that should not be overcome or broken. The barrique problem exists and has a foundation only outside of non-French provincialism since in France theélevage des vins en fût de chéne It has a centuries-old history and is found in almost all the main wine-growing areas.
In the magazine Burgundy Today, Rene Naudin, responsible forInstitut Technique de la Vigne e du Vin, in an interview he states: “ …Winery making in barriques has notable advantages because it gives white wines a contribution of aromatic characteristics close to those of wine, which are further modified by the rest on the yeasts and by the practice of bâtonnage which gives structure and fat to the wine itself, on the contrary for reds the interest is essentially constituted by a progressive and controlled oxygenation which allows stabilization of the color and attenuates the intrinsic tannic character of the vine…. ".
The path of the barrique
As we have seen, for centuries wooden containers (barrels, casks, barriques, kegs) have represented the most widespread way of preserving and transforming food products, including wine. The very first evidence of this small round 225-litre barrel dates back to the Iron Age, while as early as the first century BC. In more recent times, the 1975th – 1980th century, the barrique has fulfilled primary transport needs. It is therefore contingent reasons linked to trade, together with the great abundance of the raw material used to build them, that have imposed these containers. Their diffusion has strengthened over the years and slowly the particular taste characteristics that the wines acquired, in contact with wood, have imposed themselves on the attention of consumers and the sensitivity towards the taste of a matured red or a white made in barrique has grown. From a simple means of transport, therefore, to an elaborate maturation and aging technique: this is the path of the barrique that in the years closest to us, XNUMX/XNUMX, has determined, especially in emerging winemaking areas such as California, South Africa and Australia, a real technological revolution. For some years now, even in Italy and Switzerland (Canton Ticino) we have been witnessing an increase in the use of the barrique, favored by constant winemaking research aimed at improving the quality of the wine.
Wood and production areas
The value and the value of a barrique, or of any wooden wine container, are essentially attributable to two factors: the quality of the wood used, which depends only in part on the production area, and the processing technique. The wood used to build the barrique is oak, which due to its chemical composition and physical requirements of resistance and bendability has proven to be the most suitable. Among the many types of oak that exist, the most valuable belong to the European species. Oak o Quercus Peduncolata e Quercus Sessilis o Oak petrea, which are found throughout the forests of central-western Europe. The best production is obtained in France (Limoges, Alliér, Tarranceaux, Nevér, Vosges, Troncais), Yugoslavia (Slavonia and Croatia), Poland (Memel), but also in Germany (Palatinate), Czechoslovakia (Carpathians), Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania. Italy and Switzerland, lacking forests of valuable oak, rely entirely on imports, especially from the French and Yugoslavian markets. The greatest experts in the art of barrique production agree that there is no area of origin of oak that is absolutely better than others for the elevation of a wine, since climatic and environmental variations have a great influence on the quality of the wood, both within the same region and almost within the same forest. This is where a precise evaluation of the fibre, colour, toasting and scent of the wood becomes crucial, and only expert coopers are able to formulate it.
The production technique
From a strictly technological point of view, concerning the processing of oak, the methods of cutting the wood are of great importance. For the production of barriques, the so-called "cut in quarters”, that is, wood cut parallel to the pith rays, as it is less deformable and less likely to split during seasoning. The “flat cut”, with a tangential cut to the annual circles, is preferable for containers with a capacity greater than 1000 litres. A further distinction can also be made between split wood (by hand) and sawn wood (by hand or machine). Splitting with a wedge and hammer, an exclusive technique used in the past, reduces the trunk into 4 or 6 parts, depending on its diameter (generally greater than 50 cm); the bark, sapwood and heart are discarded from the trunk and only the duramen (heartwood or heart of the wood) which represents the internal part of the trunk, in which the plant cells are physiologically dead. It is a very expensive system both for the longer processing times and for the product losses: from 4 cubic meters of wood you get on average 1 cubic meter of staves, with which it is possible to build about 10 barriques. The material obtained with this technique is preferred by many coopers who build barriques because it is more resistant and less permeable, since the cut follows the natural fibers of the wood and keeps them intact. Others are more in favor of the “fine sawn” or “quarter sawn” system. Also in this case the trunk is divided into 4 – 6 parts with a wedge, but then the staves are obtained with the saw. These are staves that, having a greater permeability, allow a higher osmotic exchange between wood and wine and therefore a more rapid evolution of the refinement process. On the other hand, they have a lower mechanical resistance.
Once the processing of the logs is completed, with the reduction of the wood into staves, the seasoning takes place, which can be obtained naturally or artificially. Classic seasoning must be natural, that is, it must take place in the open air, possibly in a ventilated area, with the wood exposed to temperature changes, sun and rain. The atmospheric agents allow a gradual purification of the staves and can highlight any imperfections in the wood. Artificial seasoning uses hot air dryers, which however have the major drawback of acting too abruptly, thus blocking the cellular flow, thanks to which unnecessary substances, which are actually harmful to the wine, are lost. Furthermore, microscopic cracks are produced in the wood, seasoned in dryers, which are the site of possible bacteriological attacks. There are also different ways of stacking the planks in the first, second and subsequent years of seasoning. The stacks must ensure good air circulation and good washing away by water. The indications on the seasoning times speak of one year for every 2,5 cm. of wood thickness, even if economic reasons have led over time to increasingly shorten this period. An optimal seasoning should never be less than two years. What is obtained at the end of the seasoning phase in the open air is a wood without longitudinal cracks, not excessively rich in tannins and free from compounds with more or less unpleasant flavors that could be transferred to the wine during aging.
At this point, everything is ready for the final phase. The staves are cut into uniform pieces (approximately 90 cm long), appropriately trimmed so that they are wider in the center and narrower at the head; this will make it possible to obtain the classic rounded shape of the barrel. The staves are then assembled vertically, starting from the first circle at the head; other “work” circles are then added and heating begins inside the barrel, using the live fire of a wood-burning brazier for 35 – 40 minutes. The heat softens the wood and allows the steel cord, which acts in the lower part of the barrel, to gradually tighten the staves until they fit perfectly. Once the cable has been removed and the remaining circles have been inserted, the barrique is transferred to another fire for the so-called “toasting” phase, which generally takes a few minutes. Toasting results in semi-carbonization of the inside of the barrique, with the aim of fixing the aromatic substances, damaging the lignin and facilitating future wine-wood reactions.
Finally, the grooves that will house the perfectly fitting bottoms are created on the two heads. The barrique now only needs the external finishing, done with the press, and the replacement of the “work rings” with those in galvanized iron. The barrique is now ready to house the great red and white wines for aging.
There are several different types of barriques on the market (over a hundred) but tradition, especially French, has highlighted three in particular:
- a) Bordeaux : it is the classic 225 litre barrique used in the Bordeaux region, for both red and white wines; the thickness of the staves is approximately 18 mm and for this reason it is the most delicate barrique.
- b) Burgundy: widespread in Burgundy, it is called “pieces”, it has a capacity of 228 litres; it is shorter and more swollen than the previous one; having a wood thickness of 28 mm it is the most resistant of the three.
- c) Cognac: classic Limousin wood barrel for the aging of Cognac and Brandy; contains 300 litres.
