你曾经想过为什么酿酒师不用塑料桶而要用橡木酒桶储藏酒吗？



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From the mailbag, a listener asks: Why do we age wine in wooden barrels? Good question! These days, aging wine inside big wooden barrels seems pretty inefficient, if not downright old-fashioned! But winemakers have good reasons to prefer oak barrels over cheaper alternatives! When newly-made wine is put into barrels, it isn't finished yet. Most wine is left in barrels to age for six to 18 months, depending on the type of wine. During that time, the wine undergoes various chemical changes that make it taste better. But most of these chemical changes can't happen without exposure to air–and that's why winemakers prefer wooden barrels. Stainless steel or plastic containers would cost less and last longer, but they're airtight. They're fine for storing wine, but the wine doesn't age properly in an airtight container–and it definitely doesn't taste the same! Most wine barrels are made of oak. That's because oak is dense wood with a very “tight” grain. It’s a great compromise – oak wine barrels are tight, but not completely airtight, so wine can age properly without leaking out.
一封听众的来信中问道：为什么我们要用木质的桶来发酵酒。 不错的问题！在那个年代如果不是特意的守旧，用较大的木质酒桶发酵酒是非常低效的。但是酿酒师们有更好的理由中意橡木桶而非廉价的替代物。 当把新酿造的酒放入酒桶，酿酒过程并没有结束。大部分的酒根据不同的种类需要在酒桶中储藏6到18个月。在那段期间，酒会经历多种化学变化使得酒尝起来味道更好。 但是大部分的化学反应在不暴露于空气中的情况下是不会发生的--这也是酿酒师倾向于选择木质酒桶的原因。不锈钢或者塑料容器造价便宜而且耐用，但是他们是不透气的。他们适合装酒，但是在不透气的容器中就不能很好的发酵--酒的味道尝起来也确实不一样。 大部分的酒桶是用橡木做成的。那是因为橡树密度大且紧密。这是很好的这种方法--橡木酒桶密度大，但是并不是完全的透气，因此酒可以很好的发酵而不会泄露。