Discover Walla Walla

If you are a newbie to wine and want to know what barrel tasting all about - - no, it is not about licking the barrel to find out how it tastes. Barrel tasting is a special event where wine barrels are opened and the wine is sampled before the actual bottling of the wine takes place. Often the wines are still young, but barrel tasting allows wine enthusiasts the opportunity to taste and learn about future releases before buying.

There are also tools and other terms that goes along with tasting from the barrels such as "thief" and "angel's share."

No-no-no, a wine thief isn't a guy that sneaks into the winery and steals wine. A wine thief is a glass or a food-grade plastic tube,12 to 24 inches in length, and is used to siphon wine out of a barrel. Once the wine is removed by the thief, it is poured into another container such as a wine glass. The thief is used especially during barrel tasting events.

So, you may be wondering about the "angel's share" and if angels hang out with the wine thieves (If this were the case, there sure would be a lot of wine being pilfered by thieves and angels). The "Angel's Share" is an old term for the portion (share) of wine or spirits that is lost due to evaporation while aging in the barrels. Over time, some of the wine can slowly seep through the grain of the barrel staves and evaporate into the open air. The annual estimated loss can be around 2% per barrel. This loss of evaporating wine alludes to the belief that guardian angels watch over the wine as it ages and if you have ever been in a wine cellar the belief is also that you can actually smell the fragrant "angels."

 

There's an old legend that monks in the monastery would come to work in their wine cellars and in the mornings they would notice there were small amounts of wine being stolen from their barrels. They soon posted guards at the cellar doors, but after a long day of laboring in the vineyard, the guards fell asleep and the thief was able to pass through the sleeping guards and steal the wine. What's a monk to do? Well, what else do monks do best, but pray. And so they prayed. They prayed all day and they prayed all night. The monks prayed for heavenly guardians, angels, to help them watch over the wine at night.

The following morning after the angel's first watchful night, the monks gathered in the cellar and checked the barrels. Hallelujah! The monk's prayers had been answered! The proof was the guardian angels even took a payment for their watch - - a small share of the wine - - from each barrel.

This weekend, December 3-5, is the 2010 Annual Holiday Barrel Tasting in Walla Walla. Over 50 wineries will be decorated for the season and ready to welcome their guests with a variety of festivities. Be sure and check out what the wineries have planned and also, don't forget to get your share of the wine in the barrels before the angels do.