French oak for wine barrels must be split by hand (instead of quarter-sawn like American oak), which is part of why French oak barrels are more expensive; there’s a lot more labor involved and each tree yields fewer barrels.
French oak for wine barrels must be split by hand (instead of quarter-sawn like American oak), which is part of why French oak barrels are more expensive; there’s a lot more labor involved and each tree yields fewer barrels.