It is my understanding that oak barrels do more than add oak to wine. The
breathing is very important to the overall effect. If you can only leave
the wine in these barrels for a very short period of time, you would
probably get the same effect from oak cubes and it would be cheaper.

Ray

> wrote in message
om...
> Hello everyone,
>
> While reading r.c.w. via Google groups today, I noticed the following
> link on the right hand side of the screen:
> http://www.1000oaksbarrel.com/index.html
>
> They sell very small barrels (1, 3, 5, 10, & 20 Liters) at very
> reasonable prices. These seem like an attractive way for the home
> winemaker to try barrel aging, without the expense or storage
> difficulties of a traditional large barrel. And if it doesn't work
> out, the investment is not too painful.
>
> I know that the smaller barrels will impart a strong oak flavor due to
> the proportionally large surface area exposed to the wine. But other
> than this caveat, does anyone have a comment on these products from a
> quality perspective?
>
> Thanks for your input. Cheers-
>
> Roger
> Quinta do Placer