Chinese Barrels Enter American Wineries

Jeff Morgan
Posted: January 18, 1999

Winemakers are always looking for a better, cheaper barrel. Some hope they have found it in the new Chinese oak barrels now being imported to the United States by Jingsheng International Trade, Inc., in Monterey Park, Calif. They look like typical Bordeaux barrels, but their price tag--$379--is about half that of a new barrel made in France.

Fashioned from oak trees that grow in northeast China's Chang Bai Mountains, the 59-gallon barrels are air-dried for 18 months and coopered at the Chinese Forest Bureau's woodworking factory.

Many American winemakers use American oak barrels, which cost about $350 each, as an alternative to more expensive French ones. The difference between the two extends to flavor as well: American oak is considered to be less subtle than French oak, although this is changing as barrel technology improves.

The flavor contrasts apparent in American and French oak barrels stem from the fact that the wood comes from different species of trees. Jingsheng president Wei-Jing Du declined to identify the species of oak used to make the Chinese barrels.

Nevertheless, some California wineries, including Callaway and Mount Palomar, both in Temecula, have decided to experiment with the Chinese product. A sample of Mount Palomar Cabernet Sauvignon aged for 12 months in Chinese oak was light-textured and cherry-like, offering pleasingly subtle oak notes.

Rosenblum Cellars, a San Francisco Bay area winery known for its distinctive Zinfandels, purchased two Chinese barrels at a wine industry trade show in mid-January. "Traditionally, we use a lot of new American oak barrels and used French oak barrels," said Rosenblum enologist Jeff Cohn. "We just wanted to try the Chinese oak out. It's another spice on the spice rack."

To learn more about oak barrels:

1998 California Wine Experience
Oak Aging ... and Its Effect on Wine

January 12, 1998
Napa Tasting Shows Off American Oak Barrels

December 22, 1997
French Establish Wine-Barrel Quality Standards

October 16, 1997
Fetzer's Mendocino Cooperage Breaks Ground on New Barrel-Making Facility

May 31, 1994

California's Fetzer Vineyards Takes on Last Bastion of The French With Barrel-Making Operation

January 31, 1994
American Oak Barrels Get a Hand From France