"Years ago when I was just starting out as a winemaker, it was almost unheard of to get French oak wine barrels and American oak barrels were for whiskey, not wine. But we still needed barrels to age our wine, so we purchased new and used bourbon barrels. Today, American and French oak wine barrels are commonplace, so the inspiration for 1000 Stories is a nod to the way things were. We have selected new and used bourbon barrels for these small batches of Zinfandel, which impart characteristics specific to these barrels: charred vanilla, dried herbs and a hint of caramel." Bob Blue