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Why oak became the wine wood
Three rare qualities in one tree. Oak is strong enough to bend into a watertight barrel, porous enough to let in tiny amounts of air, and flavorful enough to give the wine something back.
That third quality is the secret. Over months, compounds in oak — vanillin, lactones, aldehydes — slowly migrate into the wine, creating vanilla, coconut, spice, smoke and chocolate notes.
Almost no other wood does all three. That's why oak became the standard.
