🍷 Stave

A stave is a curved oak board, one of the walls of a barrel. A barrel is assembled from several dozen staves fitted tightly against each other. Hoops pull them together so that the barrel does not leak, with no glue or nails. The stave is made by a cooper. He splits or saws an oak log along the grain so that the boards do not let liquid through. The boards are then dried in the open air, usually for at least two years, so that bitterness and excess moisture go away. The stave is shaped by warming it over a fire, so it bends without breaking. The middle is wider than the ends, which is why the barrel bulges in the middle. The taste of the wine depends on the stave. The degree of toasting of the inner face gives notes of vanilla, toast and spice. The species of oak and the place where it grew also affect the result. The stave is the main element of the oak barrel. After a few years of service the walls give the wine less and less flavour.