No Wine Before It's Time - Barrels-Chateau Meichtry

by Jan Dappen

Title

No Wine Before It's Time - Barrels-Chateau Meichtry

Artist

Jan Dappen

Medium

Painting - Oil On Canvas

Description

Description

This is a cropped image of the original Mural that I painted in oils on a 9' x 11' door made of fiberglass in a Wine Cellar at a local Winery in Talking Rock, GA. The Chateau Meichtry is a family owned Vineyard situated in the Mountains of North Georgia. The Vineyards are charming, the wine is delicious and the Family is lovely. This was a challenging project physically and professionally. A scaffolding was needed to paint the upper half of the Mural as it was too tall to reach. My husband applied two coats of primer on the door before I started. The whole process took eleven days. When I was close to finishing, someone actually walked into the painting, breaking their wine glass into the door. I like to think it was because they thought it was really a doorway. Of course, the wine probably didn't help. If you enjoy visiting the vineyards in North Georgia, I encourage you to visit this one in Talking Rock.
Who knew the Barrels were so important in wine tasting? One of the benes of painting in a wine cellar and being around the family of the winery...You learn a lot about making wine. 🍷 So as I added the details on the barrels here,I would like to share the meaning of the symbols. Of course, Chateau Meichtry is the name of the family owned Vineyard in Talking Rock, GA. The M and M+ means how long the barrel was toasted ( burned)-the + being a bit longer. The ZB is the trademark for the Barrel Maker in Hungary. Barrels are only used about 5 years before their unique flavor dissipates.
Hungarian Oak
The Hungarian Zempl�n oak is the same species as French oak, but this gentle oak, growing in a colder microclimate, has even tighter grain and more subtle impact. Hungarian oak is �more French than French.�
The trees in the Zempl�n Mountains grow slower in the volcanic soil and smaller, creating fine tight grain which sequentially lends itself to a very delicate extraction.
The hemicellulose in the Hungarian oak breaks down more easily, and conveys an exceptional selection of toasted, vanilla, sugary, woody, spicy and caramel-like flavors � imparting these aromas with less intensity, and slower than American or French oak.
Many winemakers favor the softer, smoother, creamier texture that Hungarian oak offers their wines. French winemakers preferred to use Hungarian barrels until the early XX. Century, then � because of World Wars, supply cut � the French wine industry was forced to find its own source in France, similar to the unique quality, legendary Hungarian Zempl�n oak.
However, after the fall of the Iron Curtain, the cooperages from France, again became major consumers of the exclusive Quercus petraea/Sessile Hungarian Oak trees, originated in the Zempln Mountain Forest.

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March 30th, 2016

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