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42 W i n e s & V i n e s A P R i L 2 0 1 4 convection toasts: vanilla and caramel. Stavin is now offering winemakers the chance to make custom fan packs with a blend of different toasts or with untoasted staves to create an effect similar to the untoasted heads of barrels. Xtraoak offers a similar option in its fan packs. Xtraoak, or Xtrachêne as it is known in France, also produces Stick 22.90, which is a different shape than a traditional oak stave. The company claims Stick 22.90, which is 2.2 cm by 2.2 cm and 90 cm long, provides more extractable flavors and tannins. The sticks can also be bun- dled together with a Xtradiamond Kit and placed into a tank. Oak Infusion Spiral offers a few multi- ple-toast packs that feature blends of dif- ferent toasts for specific applications like its French oak Burgundy blend with light, medium and medium-plus toasted spirals. Anne-Claire Lelievre, key account man- ager for Nadalie Add-Ins, said the com- pany is developing a new toast similar to its "special" toast but more suitable for white wines. She said the new toast enhances the fruit while bringing a soft- ness and roundness to the wine. Quercus Concepts introduced a new fan pack of staves it's calling Prestige, which is intended for Pinot Noir. Sales manager Attila Oross said the pack is designed to round and lift the wine with only minimal oak aromatics. "We are also offering new Chardonnay fans designed to frame the underlying fruit while striking a balance between sweet notes and roasted oak aro- matics," he said. One challenge with small alternative products or even fans is that to work with large volumes of wine, cellar workers have to go through the laborious process of handling pallet loads of fan packs or bags of chips. Innerstave is looking to make high-vol- ume wood chip treatments easier with its "value bag." Alicia McBride, the company's general manager, said instead of dealing with doz- ens of 50-pound sacks, winemakers can simply order one or two value bags. The 1,000-pound bags are truncated and can be moved with a forklift. McBride said they are a good option for tanks with capacities of 70,000 gallons and up. With so many barrel alternative products on the market today, the question doesn't seem to be if wineries are using alternatives but what type of alternatives they need and want. • Chips • Granular • Stavettes • Barrel Insert Units • Stick 22.90 • Stave Fan Assembly • Xoakers • Oak-on-a-Rope FRENCH OR AMERICAN OAK FOR ENOLOGY sales@xtraoak.com 707.836.9742 Shop online: www.xtraoak.com Early bird specials in April on American Oak Xoakers & Oak-on-a-Rope XTRACHÊNE / XTRAOAK Four toast levels Economical Sustainable Time-saving (800) 201-7125 www.InfusionSpiral.com Our spirals made from Premium, American or French Oak deliver 100% new barrel flavor (8 months) in as little as six weeks. Now you can boast authentic oak flavor using neutral barrels or tanks – with rapid, controllable and predictable results. Inspired Design Patent # 7357069 West Coast–New York–Texas Len Napolitano (805) 712-4471 len@thebarrelmill.com Each fanpack from Quercus Concepts contains 22 square feet of oak planks. Innerstave offers three types of oak chips as well as staves, blocks, cubes and flour. C O V E R S T O R Y