Definitions for "Barrel Fermentation"
Converting grape juice to wine in a barrel rather than in a stainless steel fermentation tank. This imparts flavors and aromas to the wine from the oak wood. Often used for Chardonnay.
Term used to describe when a wine undergoes fermentation in an oak barrel.
Literally fermenting the wine inside of an oak barrel rather than the usual tank or vat. It's often done to make white wine richer and to integrate the oak flavor into the wine. It is costly and labor intensive because the barrel is usually much smaller (most often 60 gallons) than the tank, which means the winemaker has more containers of wine to care for.