The Afterlife of Wine Barrels is...Whiskey?

by Brian Freedman  |  Updated July 2026

When whiskey producers finish their spirit in an ex-wine barrel, the barrel is on its second career. Winemakers spend immense time and energy choosing the barrels their wine will age in—new versus second-use, American versus French versus Hungarian oak, which cooperage, what toast level—because these choices shape the character of the wine that's ultimately bottled from them. But a barrel's usefulness doesn't end there. Once it's done its job for wine, that same barrel often goes on to become a whiskey cask, and its "afterlife" as the final arbiter of a whiskey's aroma, flavor, and texture is just as fascinating as its original use.

How Much Flavor Does a Wine Barrel Really Give Whiskey?

"Depending on who you talk to, barrel maturation contributes to sixty to seventy percent of a whiskey's final flavor," explains Dylan Carney, head distiller for Savage & Cooke, the distillery on Mare Island in the San Francisco Bay Area founded by Dave Phinney, the winemaker behind The Prisoner Wine Co., Orin Swift, and Locations. (In late 2024, Redwood Empire Whiskey acquired Savage & Cooke, expanding production at the historic site while continuing its focus on wine-barrel-finished whiskey.)

"To make a great whiskey, you, of course, must start with a high-quality distillate," asserts Carney, "but the time in barrel is where good whiskey becomes great. With most American whiskey, like bourbon and rye, distillers must first age whiskey in new, charred oak barrels. Electing to use a finishing barrel opens the door to many tools to enhance the flavor of whiskey not available in a traditional aging program."

Why Distillers Reach for Ex-Wine Casks

Whiskey producers finish their spirit in everything from ex-Port casks to ones that previously held sherry and rum. But using ex-wine barrels "can add to the complexity of the whiskey, as [it] extracts wine soaked into the capillaries of the wood," Carney continued. "This brings new, fruity, and bold flavors, as well as a structural impact on the finish and mouthfeel."

There are also financial benefits, he added. "Wine barrels in some cases also provide the influence of other types of oak, such as French oak, which while allowed, is not commonly used for whiskey's primary barrel due to the expense for a product that can only be used once. All of these [ex-wine-barrel] options allow me as the blender a wider variety of flavors to draw from."

And as a smaller producer amid a sea of much larger ones, brands like Savage & Cooke can leverage barrel finishing to stand out without spending a fortune. "Whiskey as a category is a booming market," Carney explained. "Having more options to create innovative blends helps a distillery distinguish itself against larger brands with longer histories. I expect to see many more brands finishing their whiskey in wine barrels, even if it's just for distillery exclusives or highly allocated seasonal products and one-offs."

Scotch Whisky Meets Wine Country: Aberfeldy's Cask-Finishing Program

Gareth Howells, now Bacardi's North American single malt whisky ambassador after years spent as brand ambassador for Aberfeldy, the distillery in the Central Highlands of Scotland, agrees. "Finishing casks are an incredible way to nuance an already completed whisky and introduce flavor profiles that would not usually result from the initial maturation period," he said.

One of the earliest examples was the Aberfeldy 18 Year Old, finished for several months in French Côte-Rôtie red wine casks from the Rhône Valley. "Côte-Rôtie is such a powerful and elegant wine that has incredible fruity and floral notes," Howells explained. "These casks were a match made in heaven for use with the rich, rare honied notes found in Aberfeldy whisky." That barrel finishing "brings an incredible bouquet to the Aberfeldy 18, and introduces notes of red berries, raspberries, and lingonberry."

Aberfeldy has continued to expand the program since. The 2025 Aberfeldy 18 Year Old Bolgheri Tuscan Finish spends 15 years maturing in refill hogsheads and butts before an additional two years in casks sourced from Tuscany's Bolgheri wine region, layering the distillery's signature honeyed richness with soft red fruit, vanilla, and a light touch of oak.

Australian Whisky's Local Wine-Cask Advantage

As the worlds of wine and whiskey continue to expand, the range of ex-wine barrels available to whiskey producers keeps growing. Starward, the Australian whisky producer based in Port Melbourne, sources its ex-wine barrels—previously home to Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Pinot Noir—from the Barossa and Yarra Valleys, both within a day's drive of the distillery.

The McLaren Vale Distillery also leans on barrels that previously held world-class Australian wine. One recent single malt expression was aged in French oak casks that had held Mr. Riggs Shiraz, then finished in a cask that had been home to fortified Muscat. All of this adds up to one very important impact: a far more delicious world, and ever-greater integration between the best producers of wine and whiskey.

Frequently Asked Questions About Wine Barrel-Finished Whiskey

Why do whiskey distillers use wine barrels?
Distillers finish whiskey in previously used ("ex") wine barrels because the wood still holds wine soaked into its capillaries. When whiskey rests in that barrel, it draws out fruit-forward flavors, added color, and a softer, rounder mouthfeel that virgin oak alone doesn't provide.

How much of whiskey's flavor actually comes from the barrel?
Distillers commonly estimate that barrel maturation accounts for roughly sixty to seventy percent of a whiskey's final flavor, according to Savage & Cooke head distiller Dylan Carney—which is why the choice of cask, including ex-wine casks, matters as much as the distillate itself.

Can bourbon be finished in wine barrels?
By U.S. regulation, bourbon and rye must first be aged in new, charred oak containers. After that legal requirement is met, distillers can transfer the whiskey into a second barrel—including an ex-wine cask—to finish it, a technique many craft producers use for exclusive or seasonal releases.

What types of wine casks are most commonly used to finish whiskey?
Common choices include ex-Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz, Grenache, Pinot Noir, Côte-Rôtie, Bordeaux, Bolgheri, Port, sherry, and Muscat casks, each contributing a distinct fruit, spice, or tannin profile.

Where can I learn more about barrel maturation and cask finishing?
Napa Valley Wine Academy's Certificate in Scotch Whisky and WSET Level 3 Award in Spirits courses cover barrel maturation, cask finishing, and sensory evaluation in depth, taught by WSET-certified educators.