An exciting and fun learning experience is a barrel tasting. Some wineries offer different types of tours that include tasting from barrels. Others offer barrel tastings to their club members at certain times during the year. Check the wineries where you will be visiting to see if they offer tours that may include barrel tasting. If you are a club member, see if barrel tasting is one of the benefits of membership.
Most likely, when you taste a wine from a barrel it is not ready for release. Barrel tasting provides the opportunity to taste a wine that may be months or years away from bottling and sales. Although the wine may taste good, try to determine what additional aging may do for it. Is the wine balanced or is the alcohol, acidity, oakiness, or fruit predominant?
In April of 2007, we had the opportunity to attend a barrel tasting at Prince Michel Vineyard and Winery in Leon, Virginia. Brad Hansen, the winemaker, led 40 people down a flight of stairs from the spacious tasting room. We entered a large rectangular shaped, barrel aging room with a curved ceiling. Small overhead lights provided subdued lighting. Barrels lined the walls of this room except for two...
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