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TonnellerieRemond_Dir09 9/26/08 4:47 PM Page 1 COVER STORY New oval oak vessels arrive at Schug Carneros Estate Winery. Schug regularly buys new ovals for its oak program. Sonoma, Calif. "The tanks are aesthetically beautiful married to the building." Gaffner admits the idea of the oak tanks first came up in the context of visual appeal. However, he had fermented wine in wood previously and decided to do some research. "I realized this could be a real cool opportunity. It's a really new ingredient I could use in my winemaking." He hasn't had a lot of experience with the new vats yet, but already he's noticed fermentation proceeds differently. "The temperature changes are more subtle in oak tanks than in stainless steel," for one thing. He gets two or three turns for wine batches during a vintage. They also are more challenging to keep clean. "They were brand new at Ram's Gate, so they were clean to start with. Our job is to keep them that way. "We believe that the oak will stay clean if you empty them out and dry them well," he says, although he knows that some wineries keep them wet. He's using the vats for fermentation, not aging, so he is not looking to get oak flavors from them. "There's a lot of work," Gaffner says. "I wouldn't want them in a large winery. Bad things can happen." For Sangiovese and Zinfandel Consulting winemaker Chris Dearden had a lot of experience with larger formats when he worked at St. Helena, Calif.-based Benessere Vineyards, which specializes in wines made from Italian varieties. While there, he used 54-hectoliter (1,400-gallon or 5-ton) tanks for both fermentation and storage. They were truncated cones, and the tops had large manholes that could be sealed, so Dearden could use them open or closed. That also made them suitable for storage if they were topped up. "They were integral to producing Sangiovese, Pinot Noir or Zinfandel. They seem to react well." He adds that they were excellent for helping stabilize color in varieties that had weak color, like Sangiovese. He also found the oak tanks excellent for aging and concentrating the wines but he wasn't after oak flavor. "Big wood isn't about oak flavors." Over time, they lost their effectiveness. He found 10 to 15 years was a useful life before bacteria took over. He says Italian winemakers only use them for five to seven years. 793 BROADWAY, SO N OM A CALIFO RNI A 95476 T ÉL . (707).935.2176 - FAX . (707).935.4774 remondsonoma@aol.com IN FRANCE - Tél 33 / 380.26.46.42 - Fax 33 / 380.26.49.92 Win es & Vin es F EB RUA RY 20 13 31