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44 WINES&VINES April 2015 OAK BARREL ALTERNATIVES C H A R L O I S C O O P E R A G E , U S A 1 2 8 5 S . F O O T H I L L B L V D C L O V E R D A L E , C A 9 5 4 2 5 P H : ( 7 0 7 ) 2 2 4 - 2 3 7 7 F A X : ( 7 0 7 ) 2 2 4 - 2 3 9 0 P R E M I U M A M E R I C A N O A K B A R R E L S Contact: Michael Mercer Nor th American Sales Manager Cell: (707) 508-5006 michael@char loiscooper ageusa.com off, it is easier to manage one tank of 60,000 gallons when consider- ing temperature, microbe moni- toring, SO 2 management, making cellar adjustments and overall sanitation, when compared to managing 1,000 barrels for the same lot. Second, tanks tend be underutilized after harvest, and I find a lot of winemakers scram- bling to find additional barrels for wine they didn't have room for or anticipate before harvest. Using just a small percentage of oak ad- juncts in these underutilized tanks can help alleviate the pressure of getting everything into barrel right after harvest. One of the biggest advantages I see of using oak adjuncts is that you will have better control over winery sanitation. Cleaning and managing barrels takes resources, specialized facilities and time. I too often see wineries over-com- mit to their barrel program and develop spoilage problems be- cause they could not manage their barrel inventory as they began to grow. Obviously, you have to con- sider your price point and overall marketing strategy. You have to decide if the wine profile you are trying to achieve could benefit from the use of oak adjuncts. Typi- cally, these are mid-priced wines that are positioned for good future growth. The short extraction times and the ability to age large vol- umes in one tank make oak ad- juncts very attractive for this style of winemaking. Q Are there grape varieties that react particularly well with adjuncts? Are there variet- ies for which you wouldn't use or would rarely use adjuncts? Joseph: I think that there are cer- tain varieties that are perfectly suited for oak adjuncts. For ex- ample, the fruitier wines like Zin- fandel, Syrah and Petite Sirah do very well with oak adjuncts. When we get those varieties riper, they tend be rich and lush, right out of the fermentation tank. So, adding a little vanilla, spice and chocolate just fills them out, and you can have a very consumer-friendly wine within a relatively short pe- riod of time. O n e w i n e t h a t I t h o u g h t wouldn't be well suited for oak adjuncts was Pinot Noir. Pinot Noir can be very fragile, and sometimes the oak adjuncts be- come too prominent and over- b e a r i n g . L a t e l y, I ' v e b e e n experimenting with some new toasting levels that produce more of an enhanced mouthfeel and respect the fruit. It's really helped me bring out the fullness and depth of the wine without creating confectionary flavors. This is something I developed for a client that is a signature of their blend and brand, so I do not want to give away too many details. I've had mixed results with the Bordeaux varietals grown here in the northern interior. Whenever the wine has a perceived green, herbaceous flavor that we didn't remedy through oak adjuncts in the fermentation tank, it is very hard to mask later. This is where using a combination of micro-ox- ygenation and oak adjuncts has worked. But there have also been instances where it's very difficult to mask this herbaceous character. It's very important not to think that adjuncts can correct all that is wrong, and things still need to be Chad Joseph counts Zinfandel among the varieties that do espe- cially well with oak barrel alternatives. RANDY CAPAROSO