the barrel as well as matured there after fermentation, and develop a distinctive barrel-fermented flavor One unusual component of that flavor, produced by the action of yeast enzymes on compounds found in toasted oak, is a sulfur-containing chemical whose aroma is reminiscent of roasted coffee and roasted meat (furfurylthiol) Alternatives to Barrels Oak barrels are expensive, so only relatively expensive wines and spirits are aged in them There are other ways of getting oak flavor into less expensive products Boisés, extracts made by boiling wood chips in water, are a traditional finishing additive in French brandies, including Cognac and Armagnac In recent years, large-volume winemakers have begun putting barrel staves, oak chips, and even sawdust into wines while they mature in containers made of steel and other inert materials Wine The juice of the grape is just one of the naturally sweet liquids with which our ancestors learned to make alcoholic drinks Perhaps just as ancient as grape wine is koumiss, the fermented mare’s milk of the central Asian nomads One Greek word for wine, methu, came from the Indo-European word for fermented honey water, whose name in English is mead The Romans fermented dates and figs And before they tasted wine, the inhabitants of northern Europe drank apple juice fermented into cider But the grape turned out to be uniquely suited to the development of a diverse family of alcoholic drinks The grapevine is a highly productive plant that can adapt to a wide range of soils and climates Its fruits retain large amounts of an unusual acid, tartaric acid, which few microbes can metabolize, and which favors the growth of yeasts The grapes ... koumiss, the fermented mare’s milk of the central Asian nomads One Greek word for wine, methu, came from the Indo-European word for fermented honey water, whose name in English is mead The Romans fermented dates and figs And before they tasted wine,... And before they tasted wine, the inhabitants of northern Europe drank apple juice fermented into cider But the grape turned out to be uniquely suited to the development of a diverse family of alcoholic drinks...Wine The juice of the grape is just one of the naturally sweet liquids with which our ancestors learned to make alcoholic drinks Perhaps just as ancient as grape wine is koumiss, the fermented mare’s milk of the