February 19, 2010 | by Lisa Mattson

Every winter, new oak barrels from top barrel cooperages in France arrive at the Jordan Winery cellar. About two-thirds of the barrels we use to age Jordan Cabernet Sauvignon each year are new–and 100 percent new for Jordan Chardonnay–and we don’t just buy from one source. We work with more than a dozen wine barrel coopers, so inspecting these barrels to meet our winemaking standards is an intricate process. Our winemaking team inspects every new barrel delivered to Jordan, and that process includes many steps to ensure quality. As a certified sustainable winery, we also take measures to conserve and recycle waste water during new barrel inspections, as demonstrated in this vacuum seal test video.