One of the longest parts of our winemaking process happens in the barrel, and requires an extreme amount of patience on the winemaking end.
The best way to describe it is like watching a pot of water and waiting for it to boil. Torturous, but nessecary.
On average, the majority of Brennan Vineyards wines that reach barrel are red wines.
However, there is the occasional high quality Semillon, or Viognier that we will put a small amount of into barrel. For instance, the Brennan Vineyards Reserve Viognier 2014 12% of this wine was aged in New American Oak (Medium Toast) for a total of 48 days.
Red wines at Brennan Vineyards are barreled after fermentation is complete. The wine is typically divided up in to a 50% American Oak and 50% French Oak barreling program. At the end of 12-14 months, we revisit the barrels for a tasting panel and begin planning our bottling schedule for the next vintage of wines. It can be a tough job, but somebody has to do it.
This year we have purchased an additional 10 new barrels that will house our 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon which was stunning at the end of fermentation. These barrels come from our good friends up at Hoffmeister Barrelworks in St. Genevieve County, Missouri. The Oak these barrels are made from is Missouri White Oak and is world renowned for their superior stave density and flavors extracted from the wood during barrel aging.
Take a look at the video below to learn more about our friends at Hoffmeister Barrelworks!