toasting?

Toasting, or bousinage, is a traditional method coopers use to alter and influence the impact of wood barrel aging on the quality of the wine. The toasting of the staves and heads is carried out after the barrel is shaped.

The heating process, which takes from 45 minutes for light toasting to 55 minutes for medium to medium plus toasting, modifies the chemical composition of the wood. "Woody" aromas are subdued by the toasting; smoky, spicy, sweet, burnt, and vanilla aromas are developed by an increase in volatile phenols and formaldehyde derivatives in the heated wood. The degree of toasting, type of oak, and characteristics of the wood grain all influence the quality of wine aged in a toasted oak barrel.

For Toasted Head Wines, the barrel staves and heads are given a medium to medium plus toasting. We use a variety of barrels from the finest coopers here and in France, including barrels made from "bois de centre" oak, and oak from the Allier region of Central France, near Sancerre. These tight-grained woods impart a delicate flavor without masking the essential vineyard characteristics of the wine. The result is wine that has a balance of oak and grape aromas.

*info from http://www.toastedhead.com