2021 Wood Family Vineyards “Against the Grain” Bourbon Barrel Aged Red Wine
The History of Using Bourbon Barrels For Wine
Photo from iStock
In the early 1980’s, American oak barrels were expensive for many start up wineries. By law bourbon barrels have to be 100% American oak and can only be used one time to distill bourbon in the United States. So after their use, many barrels became available for “other distilled spirits” and wineries to purchase at a fraction of the price of new French or new American oak barrels. So why doesn’t everyone purchase used bourbon barrels? Key is that whiskey barrels are produced differently than wine barrels. Whiskey barrels are charred on the inside verses wine barrels which are toasted. By only toasting wine barrels, the wine while aging develops many nuances of flavor. Bourbon barrel aged wines tend to be bold with ripe reds, vanilla, smoky and with muted tannins.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The use of bourbon barrel aging has taken off more recently with wineries using these barrels. Some view it as a trend to attract Millennials who buy whiskies. Others view it as a crossover from spirits to wine and yet the resulting wine is unique, smooth and provides an enjoyable sipping experience. The spirits barrel aged category of wine earned $120 million in 2019 compared to $800,000 in 2015. This market is exploding due to the flavor profile not just with Millennials but with wine aficionados looking to enhance their experience. Meininger in their report stated sales of Bourbon barrel aged wines has hit 20 million bottles and growing at a fast rate. They also stated if these wines were a category, it would be bigger than Zinfandel.
The Winery
Harrison Wood Executive VP and Rhonda Wood owner & winemaker Photo ©Michael Kelly
Wood Family Vineyards, located in eastern Livermore Valley, with Rhonda Wood owner & winemaker, has been producing award winning wines for over two decades. You can read more on her background from airline pilot to award winning winemaker at:
https://californiawinesandwineries.com/2016/02/10/wood-family-vineyards-2/
and
Her awards are extensive and too numerous to list here in this article. Check out their website at the bottom of this article.
The Wine “Wine is bottled poetry” – Robert Louis Stevenson
Photo ©Michael Kelly
As a “varietal purist” this has captured my attention for the last four or five years. It is unique to the wine industry and is a wine that is uncommon and revitalizing. It is particularly great in the winter time for sipping or summer time with BBQ’d food. The mix is different each year. This year it is 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Petit Verdot, 20% Malbec and 5% Petite Sirah. The wine is aged in Bourbon barrels for 8 weeks and then aged 18 months in their normal barrel treatment.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
The wine on the eyes was a cavernous purple coloration most likely from the Petit Verdot with medium heavy viscosity. On the nose, varying aromas grab the senses of dark berries. On the palate wide reaching tastes evolve with the mixture of varieties of Cabernet Sauvignon providing structure and depth, along with Malbec providing both a jammy flavor and a tinge of smokiness. The finish wraps up the experience with velvety tannins and the allure of Bourbon. From past vintages, the Bourbon will become more pronounced but not domineering over time. This is a wine that keeps on giving with so much going on. The alcohol level is a whopping 16.5% and only 50 cases were produced.
This wine will again make my best wines tasted in the calendar year which comes out early September.
The Food and Wine Pairing “Food without wine is a corpse; wine without food is a ghost. United and well matched, they are as body and soul: living partners” – Andre Simon
Photo ©Michael Kelly
Paired with a marinated filet mignon steak. Ingredients for the marinating sauce were: cayenne pepper, honey, Bourbon, pineapple juice, pecans, Applewood salt and peppercorns. Marinated for eight hours and then seared at 1000 degrees and served medium rare. Accompanied by a Yukon potato and a fresh garden salad.
Photo ©Michael Kelly
In the marinate mix, a little too much pineapple juice was used, so provided a shot glass with Bourbon and added some peppercorns to lightly dip each bit of the filet mignon into. This was a great work around and next time will cut back on the pineapple juice or add some additional Bourbon in the mix. Other than that, this was a fantastic food and wine pairing!
Sláinte,
Michael