New Kind of Cask

There’s a new kind of wine cask on the market. Concrete has long been used for fermenting wine (especially in Europe), much of which is then aged in oak barrels for many months after. Now some producers like Classified Growth Pontet-Canet in Pauillac, Bordeaux and others have starting using “Dolias”, a made-to-measure, concrete barrel in the shape of a Roman amphora, for aging, along with traditional oak versions. After aging, wine from both oak barrels and concrete versions are blended together. The affect on the wine is quite different. Producers who are using Dolias claim that the concrete is softer for the wine and provides more depth and purity in the finished, blended wine.