Ep 449: All About Oak Barrels with Craig Holme of Tonnellerie Radoux

<p>This week's show is about the essential art of cooperage, or barrel making. Aussie winemaker and current US National Sales Manager for <a href="https://www.tonnellerieradoux.com" target= "_blank" rel="noopener">Tonnellerie Radoux</a>, Craig Holme, takes us through how barrels are made, from forest to cellar. We discuss sustainability (Hint: the issue isn't the barrels or the trees, it's the fact that they come on container ships fully assembled, as winemakers order. Hello, carbon footprint!), how different regions look at barrels, and how barrels are a very personal thing to a winemaker. A cool look inside of an essential part of wine!</p> <p> </p> <p><a href="https://www.tonnellerieradoux.com" target="_blank" rel= "noopener"><img style= "display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src= "https://assets.libsyn.com/secure/show/45638/logo.png" alt="" width="80" height="80" /></a></p> <p><a href="https://www.tonnellerieradoux.com" target="_blank" rel= "noopener"><img style= "display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src= "https://assets.libsyn.com/secure/show/45638/Radoux4.png" alt="" width="347" height="376" /></a></p> <p style="text-align: center;"> </p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Thanks to the Patrons for their insightful questions that augmented the show! <a href= "http://www.patreon.com/winefornormalpeople">To join Patreon, click here. </a></strong></p> <p> </p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Here are the show notes:</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">1. Craig tells us briefly about his early life in Mount Benson, South Australia where his family farmed Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. He discusses how he worked in the wine industry, working harvests around the world, and then becoming a winemaker himself. For 10 years, Craig and his wife owned a small wine brand, called Holme Estate Cellars, which specialized in Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz sourced from their family vineyards in Australia. They also bought Zinfandel and Chardonnay from California. He moved into barrels about