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Serious Grape: Back to the Barrels? An Old-Fashioned Proposal
There are still some wineries that do this. But the biggest problem for doing it in retail spaces is that it severely reduces the wines that a store will carry. How many grocery stores are going to stock 30 full-sized wine barrels? (That would be 5 options for 6 different varietals or styles, that is far fewer than all but what most gas station convenience stores carry). The American retail system is about choice, while this could work for a chain's private label, they would have to continue stocking conventional wines/bottles in order to draw enough consumers. The other big concern I see is the wine going bad within the barrel if it is sitting for too long. Other than adding constant nitrogen to force out oxygen, the option is to ship the wine in a bag in a barrel and then the barrel is doing nothing but adding to shipping weight.
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I definitely enjoy my gins, especially the new crop from small distillers like 209, Old Raj and Junipero. The range of flavors allow gins to be selected individually for each drink better than vodka (and gives flavor rather than just adding alcohol), from the citrus and floral of 209 to the more traditional juniper dominated Hendricks. For Gimlets and tonics, I find that lighter, less "juniper-y" gins work best, but for gin drinks with Pimms No. 1 or other heavier additions that the stronger gins work better.
I'm glad to see a San Francisco writer making this book as many of the the new American small distillery gins are coming from the are.