Sommelier Society of America blog Le Sommelier

Oak is a fascinating topic, and cooperage, a cooper is a person that produces oak barrels. There's a lot of talk about the origin of the wood being the most important factor in determining the flavor, which forest, whether it's Nievre, Tronçer, Allier, I've learned that what's quite interesting is the process of producing the oak barrel is actually believed to be more important in determining the final flavor profile of a barrel.