My brother is the winemaker at Newton Vineyard, also for Chandon's still wine division, both owned by LVMH (Louis Vuitton-Moet-Hennessy), and located in Napa Valley. They use Imported French oak barrels at roughly $1000-$1500 a pop, and some American oak at about $800-$1000. I wonder if he knows his wine is cheap. I'll have to let him know. (He makes some awesome homebrew too! Way better than mine. The boy knows how to ferment!)
Come to think of it, I bet those wineries put all their barrels in underground wine caves because they can't afford big above-ground stainless steel or fiberglass tanks.
Come to think of it, I bet those wineries put all their barrels in underground wine caves because they can't afford big above-ground stainless steel or fiberglass tanks.