The Importance & Fun Behind Barrel Sampling

One of the most impor­tant aspects of wine­mak­ing is bar­rel sam­pling. This prac­tice allows the wine­mak­er to trace the wine’s jour­ney, reveal­ing the lay­ers of char­ac­ter it devel­ops over time. By tast­ing from the bar­rel, the wine­mak­er can make thought­ful adjust­ments to achieve the desired style, while also respond­ing to the unique con­di­tions of each vintage.

Each bar­rel express­es itself dif­fer­ent­ly depend­ing on the grape vari­ety, cooper­age used, and the fer­men­ta­tion process. Through sam­pling, our wine­mak­er, Steve Beck­men, makes impact­ful deci­sions about blend­ing, oak treat­ment, and bal­anc­ing acid­i­ty — ensur­ing that the wine reflects both the vintage’s char­ac­ter and our vine­yards’ expression.

Bar­rel sam­pling also pro­vides insight into a wine’s aging poten­tial, offer­ing a glimpse of how fla­vors, tan­nins, and aro­mas will evolve. Through this care­ful assess­ment, wine­mak­ers safe­guard qual­i­ty, pre­serve com­plex­i­ty, and antic­i­pate the expe­ri­ence that will ulti­mate­ly reach the customer.

Vin­tages that are warm and sun­ny usu­al­ly result in the quick ripen­ing of grapes. This caus­es wine to become rich and fruity, and in some cas­es, have high­er alco­hol con­tent. Grapes grown in those con­di­tions tend to become fuller and more inte­grat­ed in the bar­rel, where the fruit and oak blend, and tan­nins soft­en. Cool­er and wet­ter vin­tages, on the oth­er hand, tend to pro­duce more del­i­cate wines that have high­er acid­i­ty. These wines require more time to mature in bar­rel, allow­ing aro­mat­ics and fla­vors to devel­op with greater ele­gance. When grapes endure sea­sons that are too hot or exces­sive­ly rainy, the result can be coun­ter­pro­duc­tive, hin­der­ing the wine’s progression.

Futures Barrel Tasting 

For Futures tast­ing par­tic­i­pants, bar­rel sam­pling is a rare chance to expe­ri­ence a winemaker’s per­spec­tive. Guests sam­ple wines pre-bot­tling, gain­ing insight into how sub­tle deci­sions affect the out­come. It is an edu­ca­tion­al and immer­sive expe­ri­ence that con­nects cus­tomers to the artistry, sci­ence, and intu­ition behind each vin­tage, deep­en­ing their appre­ci­a­tion for both the wine and the wine­mak­ing process.