Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/107279
COVER STORY When Bigger Oak Is Better Winemakers increasingly use large barrels and oak tanks to improve wine texture without 'oakiness' By Paul Franson Highlights Walter Schug learned to appreciate large-format oak W • ood tanks and big barrels give softer W tannins and richer mouthfeel without adding obviously oaky flavors. in Germany and now uses it in Sonoma, Calif. inemakers are increasThe vats don't impart oak flavor, • ak tanks and large barrels are exO ingly returning to the past however, as the ratio of must to pensive, unwieldy and a challenge to to improve their wines, and surface area is too large. The oak there are few places that is vats have a capacity of 16 tons and maintain. more apparent than in the are nearly 11 feet tall, almost 10 feet increasing use of larger-thanin diameter at their widest point and • inery visitors love the way large forW standard oak barrels for aging and large oak 8.75 feet across at the top. Coopers mats look in the cellar. vats for fermentation. from Tonnellerie Taransaud in France Winemakers who love using barrel assembled them in June 2000. formats larger than 60 gallons say they offer softer tannins Janssens admits that maintenance of the tanks is almost a fulland smoother mouthfeel than steel tanks. They also find that time job. She follows the strict protocols provided by Taransaud wood fermentation vats add the advantages of oak without and contracts with the cooper to maintain the tanks. Every excessive "oakiness." August they check both the physical soundness and the microbiMeanwhile, large oak vessels are irresistible draws in wineries, ology of the tanks. even if they are expensive to buy and challenging to maintain. Janssens has also been using the tanks for Pinot Noir for four Perhaps no large tanks can match the visual impact of the 56 or five years, starting some tanks with Pinot Noir before ferlarge Taransaud fermentors that dominate the elegant To Kalon menting Cabernet. Cellar at Robert Mondavi Winery in Oakville, Calif. Winemaker The tanks are obviously expensive, but Janssens says that Genevieve Janssens finds them the perfect match for the winery's they're a good investment for the quality received. She expects to To Kalon Cabernet Sauvignon. use them for 30-40 years. "We ferment our best blocks of Cabernet Sauvignon from Aesthetic appeal the To Kalon Vineyard in the vats," Janssens says. "To Kalon Jeff Gaffner also makes wine in dramatic oak tanks, his being 5Cabernet has lot of structure and austerity. It's big in tannins to 6-ton Radoux fermentors at the impressive new Ram's Gate and polyphenols. The fermentation in large oak tanks softens the Winery designed by architect Howard Backen in Carneros near wine and makes the fruit stand out." 30 W in e s & V i ne s F E B R UARY 20 13