Tallowing Oak Cask Doors in Winemaking | Wine Education Videos

Each December, we create the barrel blend of the newborn vintage of Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon before the wine is moved to oak barrels for aging. Our cellar team still practices the old-world tradition of tallowing the doors of our oak casks to properly seal them. (Today, we use wax rather than animal fat, but the technique is still the same.)  The 2009 Jordan Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, pictured in this wine education video of tallowing, will reside for three months in our 6,000-gallon oak casks (originally constructed in 1976), before moving to French (two-thirds) and American (one-third) oak barrels for an additional 12 months of aging.