Was reading notes on some of the Top 100 wines and wondered what exactly it means when a winemaker uses half say french oak and american oak to age the wines? Does that mean that all of the wine released has been treated the same?

The standard wine barrel is about 60 gallons (228 litres). Therefore, it will take many barrels to age any given lot of wine. The winemaker has the option as to what mix of barrels he uses. Some people use all the same type of barrel from the same maker. Some use a mix of French barrels from different makers. Or all American. Or Hungarian. Or any possible mix of barrels from producers and countries.

The reason to do this is to provide different characteristics to the wine. It's one way to add complexity when you're dealing with single vineyard designated wines. You can also vary the toast levels of the barrels, or which forests the wood comes from within a given country. Also, the percentage of new vs used barrels come into play. Lots of factors to play with

Prior to bottling, the wine from all the barrels will be combined into a single tank. That way, all the various components come together to make the final wine. So, all the bottles will be consistant.

Loring Wine Company

Ahh -- thanks brian. The combining of all barrels into one vat is the answer to my question. I'm a big fan (but nearly impossible to to find in Montana) of your wines and appreciate you taking time to answer my question.