Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/480754
April 2015 WINES&VINES 43 OAK BARREL ALTERNATIVES $800 a barrel. If I age 59 gallons in that barrel, the wine will have an additional cost of $13.55 per gallon due to that barrel. If that wine makes up 25% of my blend, then I am looking at a cost of $3.39 per gallon (67 cents per bottle) for the cost of using 25% new French oak bar- rels in my blend. Now, let's look at buying French oak beans from StaVin ($370 per 20-pound bag), for example. That 20-pound bag of oak beans can add 100% new oak level on 800 gallons of wine (StaVin recommends using 1.5 pounds of oak beans per 60 gallons wine for 100% new oak impact). So, that's a cost of 46 cents per gallon (compare that to the $13.55 for a new French oak barrel) for 100% oak rate. So, if I use this wine for the same 25% of my blend, the actual cost would be 12 cents per gallon (less than 3 cents per bottle). And that's just looking at the cost of the product, not the labor and warehouse costs associated with managing barrels. It also doesn't put a value on the quality of the prod- uct being produced. But the cost difference is s i g n i f i c a n t b e t w e e n t h e t w o d i f f e r e n t materials. Q Beyond cost, what other consider- ations would lead you to use oak barrel alternatives in particular wines? Joseph: There are a number of benefits I see for using oak adjuncts with certain wines. First LODI NATIVE WINES: NO NEW OAK One wine for which Chad Joseph uses no oak barrel alternatives is the Zinfandel he makes for Maley Brothers as part of the Lodi Native project. The project aims to show- case distinctive, old Zinfandel vineyards in the Lodi area, and virtually nothing (except for sulfur dioxide) can be added to the wines: no commercial yeast, acidity, water, nutrients and so on. Not even any new oak. "It's been a refreshing experience to be able to be relieved of the responsibilities of hav- ing to fix the wine through additives," Joseph says. "Your biggest goal is to make sure that the vine produces everything you need as far as flavor, acid, nutrition and tannin are concerned. It's helped reinforce the idea that everything really is made in the vineyard, and balance is key." Joseph says that the Lodi Native protocols have given him "another tool to use when developing a wine program for a client." However, he adds, there are vintages when this hands- off approach "doesn't always work out." "Unfortunately, there are some years in which you have to add acid or correct a deficiency. That is very common with our grapes grown here…but I have used that style of winemaking in the past and see myself using it in the future." 145 Jordan Street • San Rafael, CA 94901 • 415-457-3955 • Fax 457-0304 • www.boswellcompany.com RANDY CAPAROSO