France Is Now Home To The World's Biggest Wine Barrel

France is now home to the biggest wine barrel in the world

This March, we're taking you on a tour of the Old World, with a focus on how traditional European dishes are influencing modern cuisine.

If you're searching for a new location for your next wine tour, look no further than the Languedoc, a region in southern France known for exciting bottles at affordable prices. Not only is the region known for great blends, but it's also recently become home to the biggest wine barrel in the world.

According to The Drinks Business, the giant cask can hold up to 300,000 liters of wine. It's almost 40 feet long and weighs more than 88,000 pounds.

Unfortunately, however, the barrel won't actually be used to hold wine. Château Puech Haut, the winery that owns the barrel, will use it for events and may even turn it into a shop.

Apparently, the title of "world's biggest wine barrel" has a storied past. Atlas Obscura notes that a cask with a 200,000-some-liter capacity that was built in 1751 still attracts visitors at its original home, in the cellar of Heidelberg Castle in Germany. Like the Languedoc barrel, this one is empty, too, but wine tastings occur on a floor that was built on top of the cask.

In France, the title dates back to 1878 when the then-owner of Mercier Champagne brought huge barrels to exhibitions in Paris. In 1885, the winemaker made a 200,000-liter barrel, and that one actually contained real wine.