Stained, warped and terroir rich: the global and shockingly sustainable lives of wine barrels

I honestly have no idea what you are talking about.

Terroir applies to many things. A sheep cheese made in the same style on the island of Pag in Croatia, and one in Iberia are not the same. Likewise, a San Marzano tomato grown in Australia is not the same. AOC, DOC, PDO, and many classifications exist for reasons beyond protectionism. In any case that's not what the article is about.

Yes American oak and French oak have different tastes but it isn't as if I could put a glass of whiskey in from of an expert and have them guess where the wood came from whereas doing so is a common test for grapes in wine.

Nowhere do I see that contested in the article, in fact it says the opposite.

No one at Tucson’s Hamilton Distillers knows exactly what wood the cognac barrels holding whiskey are made of.

“Probably Spanish oak?” one employee ventures a guess.

The article, which obviously I found interesting, is about the journey of a barrel. I thought others might find it interesting as well. I had no idea they were as long lived, or put to so many uses.