French, American, Russian, Hungarian etc...oak...they're all tools to be used. They all offer individual attributes. Yes French is very expensive and it is ALL supply and demand. An Oak tree takes 130 odd years to reach maturity and even then only 25% is suitable for barrel prod.
Grapewise you can make a saleable product from crap, diseased fruit, over cropped etc but great wine is made in the vineyard. My card says winemaker but I spend 75% of my time in the vineyard and the better the fruit I grow the easier my job is in the winery.
On that note I'm going to bed. It's vintage and I have to be up at 4.
