Tequila barrels give this sauvignon blanc its signature zip

The innovation of wooden barrels in the first century B.C. was almost as revolutionary as the invention of the wheel. Being both sturdy and round, barrels and casks were so much easier to transport that they soon displaced less-resilient vessels, eventually becoming as ubiquitous a container as the cardboard box is today.

As a result, wine, beer, and spirits were all made and stored in wooden barrels, vats, or casks until it became technologically feasible to replace them with inert tanks made of metal or enamel. While most drinks benefitted, tasting fresher from these more hygienic containers, some premium wines and spirits continued to taste better if they’d been aged in wood.

Nowadays, winemakers and distillers continue to mature their best products in oak barrels for anywhere from a couple months to a dozen years. Some wine barrels have always found a second life as a whiskey barrel, but that barrel pipeline only moved in one direction until quite recently.

Today, the growing popularity of cask-aged spirits like bourbon has spawned an entirely new category: wines aged in spirit barrels. The first wave were mostly big reds aged in bourbon barrels whose sky-high alcohol content and caramelized flavors appalled wine purists but were a big hit with younger audiences.

Now, big multinationals that own both wineries and distilleries are exploring other possibilities for barrel swaps, as with this thought-provoking California sauvignon blanc. Roughly one-fifth of the wine spent 60 days maturing in barrels previously used for aging añejo tequila, yielding interesting results.

The wine’s natural tastes of citrus, honeydew, and bell pepper remain front and center, but its unusual barrel regime adds richness and caramelization, like buttercream frosting on a lemon cupcake.

$14.99; 15% alcohol

PLCB Item # 98389

Sale price through January 2023— regularly $17.99

Also available at:

Wine Warehouse in Clementon and Voorhees, $13.49, blackwood.winewarehousenj.com; voorhees.winewarehousenj.com.