Storage of wine in a barrel with the purpose of subjecting it to a maturation process. Barrels can be made of various materials such as stainless steel, wood, concrete, glass or ceramic, but barrel ageing usually refers to a wooden barrel. Barrel size, barrel age, barrel wood type and the type of production have a major influence on the course and length of the ageing process. The type of barrel ultimately used depends primarily on the desired style of wine. Very often, however, it is not clear from wine descriptions in connection with vinification in which type of wooden barrel the wine was matured. This is because the type of ageing is not required by wine law.
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Dr. Christa Hanten
Fachjournalistin, Lektorin und Verkosterin, Wien