Todd CirellaSenior Managing Director, Laidlaw Wealth Management LLC · Laidlaw and Co., UK, Ltd. Senior Managing Director Todd Cirella

Todd Cirella discusses how to best use barrels in the winemaking process

Name: Todd Cirella discusses how to best use barrels in the winemaking process
Uploaded: 2025-04-15T08:48:26+00:00
Duration: 52 s
Channel: Todd Cirella
Description: In this interview excerpt, Todd Cirella explains the typical usage pattern for French oak barrels in winemaking. He notes that a barrel generally yields…

15 Apr 2025 · 1 min

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In this interview excerpt, Todd Cirella explains the typical usage pattern for French oak barrels in winemaking. He notes that a barrel generally yields about three productive runs. The first run is reserved for a high‑quality, full‑bodied Cabernet (e.g., Chalk Hill) to maximize oak extraction. Subsequent runs use progressively lower‑quality, more casual Cabernets as the oak influence diminishes. When the barrel’s oak character has faded, it can be repurposed for wines like a Super Tuscan, which benefit from a milder oak imprint. The discussion emphasizes a strategic, quality‑tiered approach to barrel management based on wine style and barrel age.

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So tell us about what do you think the age of the barrel, how many years we have to use the barrel? Uh, sure, go ahead and give me the first one. Sure, so we usually, we typically get at least 3 runs of a wine in our French oak barrels. And so typically we'll scale back the quality of wine that we're doing, so say a really heavy Cabernet like this Chalk Hill for the first run, And then maybe our step down, like a Coke Cabernet for the next one. So the quality goes less and less, more casual wine. Exactly. It's a little— it's just not going to be as strong of an oak leaf. Would you put a Super Tuscan back in that barrel? We've had that. That'll be— that's what we should place it when it goes— when it starts to decay a little bit or whatever. All right, great.