Why wine barrels?The chemical properties of oak itself play a significant role in winemaking, affecting the color, flavor, and quality of the wine.
A new barrel is created from the finest white oak. This is because the wood needs to be free of knots and defects in order to ensure a watertight seal. Most French oak comes from forests planted in the days of Napoleon for ship building. Five of those forests are now primarily used for wine barrel making. Over time many of the oak's properties get leached out of the barrel and after a few vintages the barrel is discarded. More than 200,00 hand-crafted oak wine barrels made from ancient trees are discarded annually. However, after the barrel is exhausted of its wood flavor it still has the structural integrity and strength to last a few more hundred years. When a wine barrel is converted into furniture its history is preserved and can be enjoyed for generations in the form of a usable, unique artisan heirloom. While it takes just a few years to deplete a 300 years old oak barrel of its properties, it takes only a few weeks to give it a new life. By choosing old over “new” wood, you are helping us ease the demand being placed on our few remaining old growth forests, while at the same time keeping demolition refuse out of our landfills. It makes a positive statement about our values and exposes customers to the concepts of reuse and conservation, transforming discarded, natural, quality material into unique beauty to be given a new life in our customers' hands. |
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