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WINEMAKING difference in the quality of the wood being used. The extra time spent during aging helps soften the wood tannins, thus aiding in creating a more elegant wine. Previously, most companies only offered 24 months of aging, so the added time has been something new. You use oak blocks and staves in your fermentations. Please describe how you use them. Beck: One of the main goals during red wine fermentation is to extract all of the color from the skins of the grape. In addition to color being extracted, we're also extracting tannin, which binds with the an- thocyanin (color) and creates a more stable molecule, thus helping keep the color in solution. Oftentimes there is more anthocyanin than tannin floating around at the beginning stages of fermentation, so one way to set color early is to ferment on oak and use its tannin to help create the bond. At the early stages of fermentation, oak isn't added to alter the aromas, but more for helping set the foundation of the wine's life. Oak blocks that come in nylon bags work really well during fermenta- tion because they help accomplish the color and tannin goals, but they also can be removed after fermentation and follow the wine to its next stage of aging. They can be used for the completion of ML (malolactic fermentation) and then for the next eight to 10 months of the wine's life. We use oak staves during white wine fermentation, which will stay with the wine until bottling or until we feel the wine has enough oak characteristic. Typically, our Chardonnay will remain on the staves for about 10-12 months, until the wine is ready for bottling. We then use those staves again for red wine aging—they still have a lot of flavor left in them and can last for up to another 12 months on the red wine. We like the products from Stavin and Trust International. How about your use of oak alternatives for aging wines? Beck: Aging wine with oak alternatives has really improved during the past decade because of the advancements in micro-oxygenation. Wine Club Solution for QuickBooks POS Extend QuickBooks POS & QuickBooks Accounting with apowerful wine club solution Affordable? YES! $ 500.00 one-time fee (transaction fees apply) See a demo & learn about our proven success of working with 200+ clubs At Francis Coppola Winery, staves used for Chardonnay are repurposed for red wines. "They still have a lot of flavor left in them," Beck says. ActiveClub_Dec08.qxp 10/27/08 3:26 PM HoytShepston_Monthly09 10/31/08 4:44 PM Barrels have always had the upper hand in aging red wines versus tanks, because the barrels allow small amounts of oxygen into the wine to help it age. Recent advancements in technology now allow winemakers to calculate the amount of oxygen that is being used on their wines in stainless steel tanks. It's been a real boon for the indus- try because winemakers can use small stainless steel tanks with oak staves and add as much or little oxygen as possible. During the past few years, we've tended to use more staves than any other oak alternative. Staves seem to give us the most moderate rate of oak integration during the aging process. The last thing you want is to taste your wine after only a few months of aging and notice a large uptake of oak flavors. My advice to anyone just trying out oak alternatives is to make sure you have a clear style that you're trying to achieve. Once you have a style, then it's for the barrel companies to help provide products that can be used on a trial basis. Another ques- tion to ask yourself is how much time do you have prior to bottling? 866-450-CLUB(2582) www.activeclubmanagement.com info@activeclubmanagement.com Wines & Vines APRiL 2012 31 W &V : W &V :