4 Benefits of Using Oak Barrels To Age Your Wine (expert tips)

Oak barrels have been used for aging wine for more than 2,000 years. Oak barrels were first used for storage and transportation of wine. Soon, winemakers discovered that their wine acquired an enriched and unique taste the longer it stayed in the oak barrels. Therefore, vintners began using the oak barrels for aging wine. Aging barrels have since been used by commercial wine makers and hobbyists to age their wine expertly.

Today, you can get oak barrels for sale to age your wine, whiskey, bourbon, brandy, or tequila at home. These are the benefits of using oak aging barrels to age your own wine at home.

1. Oak Barrels Imparts Unique Flavors on Wine

Compounds found in oak such as furfural, Eugenol, and Oak Lactones add unique flavors to your wine. Some of the flavors include vanilla, coconut, caramel, clove, and smokey flavors. Furfural is the compound responsible for adding the caramel flavor to your wine. This compound is also found in Oats and Bran. For the clove and spice notes in your wine, you have Eugenol compound to thank. It’s the same taste you get in Cinnamon, Basil, Nutmeg, and Bay leaves. Oak Lactones are responsible for the Oak and Coconut taste in your wine. It’s also the primary flavor of most Whiskeys.

With aging barrels, you can enrich your regular wine with a palatable taste that makes it world-class. For all wine lovers who love to age their wine at home to elevate the taste, investing in small oak barrels is a worthy decision. Good thing is that you can order handmade mini barrels of the best quality online and have them delivered to your home.

2. Oak Barrels Protect Your Wine From Light Damage

Using oak aging barrels, you can store your wine and let it age as long as you want without the wine sustaining light damage. Light can destabilize some of the flavor compounds in an oak barrel and alter the taste of the wine. It can even affect the amount of calories in wine. Especially in summer when temperatures are high, the quality of your stored wine may be affected if it’s not properly stored. When you use oak barrels, you’ll be assured that your aging wine stored in barrels is protected from light damage.

3. Aging Barrels Remain Stationary Throughout the Aging Process

All wood barrels for sale come with barrel stands and bases that keep your aging barrels in position. It’s important that oak barrels remain stationary throughout the aging process to allow the complex chemical reactions to finish without external interference. Fortunately, you don’t have to worry about keeping your aging barrels firmly in position because they have stands that support the barrels to ensure that they remain static.

4. Aging Barrels Controls Oxidation

Controlled oxidation is beneficial for the wine aging process because it enhances the color and taste of the wine. Through oxidation, fruit aromas evolve steadily into more complex flavors. However, this process requires the right amount of oxygen to be introduced into the aging barrels slowly and in a controlled way. This process helps soften the harsh tannins mostly found in red wines. However, when too much oxygen is introduced into the wooden barrels quickly, oxidation will have a reverse effect on the wine. Instead of enhancing your wine’s color and taste, uncontrolled oxidation will give your wine a flat and undesirable taste.

Aging barrels are not reserved for aging wine only. You can use them for aging and mellowing tequila, bourbon, whiskey, and brandy. In a 2018 survey, 32.55% of respondents between the ages of 18 and 29 years said that they took whiskey, bourbon, or scotch in the past three months. Lucky for whiskey and scotch lovers, small whiskey barrels for sale for aging whiskey at home are readily available. For wine lovers, oak aging barrels will enrich your wine by adding unique flavors such as vanilla, caramel, coconut, and clove. Thanks to oak barrels, you can age regular wine and add a palatable and velvety taste.