Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/279499
38 W i n e s & V i n e s A P R i L 2 0 1 4 Vivelys/Oenodev and Travis Simmons of Sonoma Cast Stone. The goal wasn't to amass more technical detail on the perfor- mance of this or that product, but to get overall impressions from people on the frontlines of the barrel battle. Do barrels still provide something special, something non-reproducible? And if so, what is it, and how does it work? The consensus, including among the peo- ple making their livelihoods from barrel alternatives, was that traditional barrels con- tribute some unique gifts to winemaking-— but that the alternatives are extremely good and getting better by the day, not just for the mass market but for very high-end wines. It's true that two of the people I talked to—Stavin's McCord and Flextank's Smea- ton—started our conversations with the same line, that barrels are better as planters than the alternatives. I began to wonder if they had both gotten a memo with talking points. Further conversation, however, revealed broader viewpoints. First, the flavor question. McCord is the longtime research director for an oak prod- ucts company, Stavin, which has the explicit goal of trying to match the flavor profiles of barreled wine with its various bits and pieces. Stavin (and some other adjunct pro- ducers) air dry their wood, just like the coo- perages, rather than kiln dry it; fire-toast their staves, just like the cooperages, rather than oven roast it, and then chop the staves up into handy chunks. After many years, McCord says, "There are certain flavors I can't make happen in stainless or Flextanks, but we're getting closer. We're as good as or better than used barrels." Burton noted that right after the repeal of Prohibition, oak chips in wine were ille- gal; they were banned because they had been used in whiskey production to create cheap color. Eventually, that rule was lifted, but Burton still thinks that "today, in spite of everything, no one has duplicated the slow melding of wood and wine and the slow process of oxidation. Yes, there are some real good copies; a lot of people have come close, and they will get closer." On the oxidation front, Smeaton says his Flextanks allow oxygen transfer at rates comparable to second-fill barrels. Leclerc says that with careful micro-ox and oak products, excellent wine is being made all over the world. The harder part, he says, is reproducing the increased concentration that comes from long (24-month) barrel W I N E M A K I N g Through micro-oxidation, oxygen is released to interact with wine as though it were in an oak barrel. SaFE HarBOr