Bourbon Barrel Wines

Can we talk about Bourbon Barrel wines?

I don't think I can have a conversation about wine without hearing that someone's favorite bottle is a such-and-such Bourbon Barrel. I've even been asked by folks to explain why bourbon casks are becoming so prevalent in winemaking.

It's MONEY. Most of the bourbon barrel wines being sold today belong to large corporate producers. These behemoths make a ton of wine. Aging this wine is thus expensive since oak barrel are a bit pricey.

So why is this an issue...Oak's use in winemaking isn't entirely about flavor. When a new oak barrel has wine in it, the wine undergoes a slowed oxidation and is imparted with tannins from the oak. With tannic wines like Cabernet, this aging induces a process called polymerization by which smaller single tannic monomers are joined together. As the tannins become more complicated, they develop softer aspects.

The question of why bourbon barrels are discarded after one use speaks directly to why they can't serve any purpose in tannin polymerization. If the oak is overly saturated the tannins can't soften. Therefore your Bourbon Barrel Cabernet is a bunch of harsh monomer tannins with bourbon flavor thrown in.

To conclude, keep bourbon in its lane and wine in its own. Ne'er the two shall meet and I will be a happy wine nerd.