Wood Influence: Size of container

The larger the container, the lower the ratio of surface area to volume will be. Barrels holding less than 190 l/50 gal can overwhelm wine with oak flavours. Containers holding more than 570 l/150 gal will provide little wood oak flavour, particularly after their first use. (See barrel types for detail of barrel sizes most commonly used.)

The use of large wooden vats or tanks as fermentation vessels fell out of favour after the advent of stainless steel and other inert materials, because the latter are much easier to clean than wood and because temperature is harder to control in large-volume wooden containers, but there is currently a resurgence of interest in them (and in concrete).