The fascinating story behind oak barriques
What’s the first image that comes to mind when you read the word wine?
We bet that one of the first would be the iconic wooden barrique that is used to store, age and ferment wine. Have you ever wondered, how did we come up with this useful object that has been used for hundreds of years? This article is dedicated to the history of the wooden oak barrique and it's not so known fun facts.
The first reference to the usage of wooden objects to transport wine goes all the way back to Ancient Egypt, almost 4,5 thousand years ago! Wall paintings inside a pyramid show Egyptians transporting open wooden buckets. At that time some civilizations used casks made from animal skin to transport water, wine and olive oil but the most popular object for the task in hand was the amphora, a ceramic container. On our Domaine you can see a simulation of the ovens used to produce amphorae and learn some stuff about its usage in Ancient Greece (Check out all the exciting things you can see on our Domaine’s tour here).
The progress of trade and the need to cover larger distances, made clear that people needed a new way to store and transport various products. Historical records show that many civilizations used sealed wooden objects to transport liquid and dry products such as the Babylonians, the Assyrians, the Gauls and of course the Romans. The wooden casks were made mostly of palm wood but it wasn’t cheap or easy to shape.
Fast forward many years later, something happened that made wooden barriques extremely popular all over the world and changed the history of wine making: What happened..? The Romans met the Gauls!
Those Celtic tribes that used to live in a large area in today’s Europe, (France, Switzerland and Belgium) had discovered the wooden barrique, very similar in its form and raw material, as it is today. Yes my friend, when you were young, reading the Asterix and Obelix comics you didn’t know that the Gauls were the wooden barrique’s pioneers. That makes us think that their famous “magic potion” could be… wine!
The Romans loved those casks, as their shape made them ideal to roll with not much effort and even made them capable of storing them more efficiently. The Romans’ travels had just become much, much easier. They started producing those barriques like crazy! But what was the raw material they used? Well, oak! A tree that they knew was abundant in Europe and could easily be processed. What they didn’t know at that time was that oak can offer a lot more to wine, as it can enhance its taste and aroma. After that discovery oak trees were also used to make barriques for the fermentation and aging of wine.
Nowadays, you can also find barriques made from aluminium, silver, even plastic. But the advantage of the wood cannot be surpassed as its porous substance let’s oxygen slowly enter the barrique, helping the wine to evolve, while also protecting it from bacteria. In addition, oak provides the essential tannins that contribute to the wine, by adding a unique texture and extraordinary flavours in the palette. Tannins are essential for wine ageing as well.
In Domaine Hatzimichalis we use French oak barriques where most of our wines age for approximately 12 months, while others such as Kapnias Red wine, age for more than 24 months. Some of our white wines like Cava Dryos White, even ferment inside those oak barriques.
If you ever visit our vineyard you will notice right next to our cellar, a very exciting installation. We are very honoured to have a historic cooperage from Heraklion.
Mr George Farsaris was a famous cooper from Crete, quite a craftsman actually and one of the few people continuing the tradition of barrique making later on.
Unfortunately, the business closed in 1999, but we wanted to keep his memory alive. Now we host an installation with the barriques and tools used back then. Also, you can find many pictures with Mr Farsaris’ work.
So, hopefully after reading this article you learned a couple of things about our beloved oak barriques and their importance in wine-making history. So next time you enjoy one of our magnificent wines, raise a toast for the oak tree, the Gauls with their magic potion and of course Domaine Hatzimichalis! 😉
