Wood Wine Barrel Chandelier

Like a fine wine this wood wine barrel chandelier gets better with age. It should because it’s made from salvaged wine barrels. Wine barrels lose their effectiveness after the wine fermentation process is complete. Usually the wine barrel is discarded and that’s when the wood staves get repurposed into lighting for this chandelier.

Wine barrels have long been used as containers to age wine. They are typically made of oak which imparts vanilla, butter and spice flavors into the wine. The type of wood used is important but the size of the barrel is equally important. The ratio of surface area to the volume of the wine determines the effect of the oak on the wine. The smaller the container the greater impact on the flavor of the wine. New wood barrels give more flavor than previously used barrels. Over time the oak loses it’s flavor as wine deposits build up on the interior of the wood. They are good for only three to five fermentations.

The construction of wine barrels takes several years so it’s no surprise that they are expensive. A good French oak wine barrel can cost $1,200 and up. The oak is split into staves along the grain. It’s then dried outdoors which can take 10 to 36 months. The longer the wood is seasoned the better the wine which is what drives up the cost. So why let these old barrels go to waste. We took the wood staves and used iron bands to construct this beautiful globe shaped chandelier. I think it’s time to make a toast. Cheers to wine barrels!

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