What Container is the Best for Bulk Storing & Aging of Wine?

What Container is the Best for Bulk Storing & Aging of Wine?

Since the art of wine making began thousands of years ago, we have used a multitude of containers for storing and aging our wines. There was a time when animal skins and clay/earthen amphora were the containers of choice. Some of the greatest cultures of ancient civilization (the Egyptians, Greeks, Phoenicians, Romans, etc.) would have produced world-class wines using these basic of storage containers. We know that they were world-class, because we have examined the residue inside the wine containers from many ancient tombs and shipwrecks. Through the ages, we have sought better and more affordable types of wine storage containers. In the middle-ages, as Europe became the focal point of grape growing and wine production, the classic oak wine barrel became the wine storage container of choice. Oak was plentiful and could be easily manufactured into wine barrels. Of course, at this time, any environmental concerns were non-existent. Then came the industrial age. The late 19^th and early 20^th century heralded the dawn of newer and innovative wine storage materials and manufacturing techniques. Hand-blown glass demijohns and steel storage tanks entered the scene. The glass demijohn was the better choice, but it was expensive and somewhat difficult to produce. The steel storage tanks were cheap and easily manufactured, but had a major downside…they ‘Rusted’. Rust and wine just don’t go well together. Soon, however, science and industry combined their efforts and developed ’stainless steel’ wine storage tanks. Because it can be cleaned and reused and because it lasts a very long time, Stainless steel is still used today by most factory wineries.
This brings us to the present time. Today, most wineries are using one of the following three containers for bulk wine storage…”Oak, Stainless Steel or Glass Carboys”.

From an environmental aspect, oak is the worst choice. Oak trees can live for hundreds of years and can remove and tie up huge quantities of carbon from our atmosphere. According to scientists around the world, excess carbon is a prime suspect in global warming. Additionally, oak trees provide welcome shade for us and a home for an infinite variety of birds, squirrels and other wildlife. One of the biggest downsides of oak barrels is that they have a very limited lifespan. Because oak is porous it cannot be cleaned and sanitized properly. At some point most will end their lives as planters at a lawn and garden store. If a winery is committed to the taste of oak, they can use oak chips instead to flavor their wine. By the way, new oak barrels are extremely expensive (300 ~ 600 US dollars each). Guess who pays this cost?

Stainless steel tanks are a much better choice than oak for bulk storage of wine. Stainless steel tanks are easily manufactured. Although they won’t last forever, they will last a very long time. At the end of their lifespan, they can be melted and recycled. Throughout their usable life, they can be cleaned and sanitized and reused over and over. Because of the alloys used to create the stainless steel, some small amount of leaching can occur into the wines. Overall, stainless steel is my second best choice for bulk wine storage.

This leads us to my #1 choice! Glass is, by far, the best material for the long-term storing of wine!

 

Glass can be reused “FOREVER”! Glass can be easily cleaned and sanitized! However, the biggest reason that glass gets my thumbs up is that glass is…”INERT”! Glass does NOT affect the taste of the wine that’s stored in it! If your goal is to produce world class wines and to retain the full taste, flavor & bouquet of the grape or fruit, glass is the ONLY choice! Please consider when we go to the store or winery and buy a bottle of wine, 99% of the time our wine package is made from glass! What would you think of a winery that offered its wine in only ‘Oak’ or ‘Stainless Steel’ bottles?

So, the choices are clear! Bulk Oak wine storage gets…2 thumbs down. Bulk Stainless Steel wine storage gets…1 ½ thumbs up! Bulk Glass wine storage gets…2 thumbs up!!

 

 

 

 

Made the right way…’Unfiltered’…Wine is a marvelous product. Wine aged in glass…is the best that it can be!!

Salute and Happy Days!