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BARRELS in the mid-palate. Like everyone in this business, he sees central European oak as a complement to French, not a total substitute. That ideal of added complexity is surely a major reason for Mercier_Jan11.qxp 11/11/10 6:40 PM Page 1 adding Hungarian and related oaks to the mix. King Ferry on Seneca Lake in New York uses Hungarian oak obtained through Canton, Demptos, Nadalié, Zemplén and Radoux, mixing it with French and American oak. One lake further east on Cayuga, Atwater Estate winemaker Anthony Alperti has only a few Hungarian barrels, but he likes what they do. "I don't like to put anything in one box; we separate clones, do different fermentations—and in barrels, too, variation means more tools in the toolbox," he says. Most everyone starts with a very few barrels for trials, then figures out where they fit in, then orders a few more, then… To date, central European oak mainly gets used for red wine production. Knox says there is a good deal of interest among California producers of Rhone-style wines and Zinfandel. Chappellet mainly uses Hungarian oak for Bordeaux varieties. But then the winery mostly makes Bordeaux varieties. Duxoup Wine Works in Sonoma County likes Hungarian oak for its Sangiovese and Dolcetto; Winemaker Allen Cutter says that representatives from Nadalié suggested several years ago that the Hungarian oak they carry might be a good substitute for the Slavonian (northern Croatian) oak traditional in much Italian winemaking. Up until the early 20th century, French winemakers were known to have a preference for Hungarian barrels. Meanwhile some winemakers, especially on the East Coast, USA West Coast Contact: Ken Deis 707.567.5711 mercierbarrels@gmail.com Pacific Northwest: Bruce Felix 503.419.7942 info@pacificwinemaking.com TonnellerieDeJarnac_Dir10 11/11/09 3:40 PM Page 1 USA East Coast: Doug Moorhead 814.725.1314 doug@piwine.com are finding this under-the-radar wood quite suitable for barrel- fermented Chardonnay. That's where King Ferry puts all those flavors of Hungarian oak to work, in one of their most popular wines, and that's one of the places Kinne puts them to work at Chrysalis. (He also used Hungarian oak, along with French Tronçais, for a very successful Petit Manseng ice wine.) Out West at Chappellet, the winemaking team worked with Trust to design a more Burgundian, white wine-friendly barrel, and so far, the Chardonnay trials are going very well. Finally, everyone agrees that central European barrels can Handcrafted & Authentic Contact: Yannick Rousseau Tel: (707) 332 4524 • Fax: (707) 224 8734 Email: yannickrousseau@sbcglobal.net Website: www.tonnellerie-de-jarnac-16.com 38 Wines & Vines FeBRUARY 2012 do one thing French barrels can't: save money. Top of the line Hungarian oak comes in at about two-thirds the price of French, and perhaps only 50% more than American oak. Better yet, Hungarian and related oaks are bought and sold in dollars, not euros, which has kept prices in check during recent volatile economic times. The Great Recession has encouraged more than one winery to check out the competition. "I spend a lot of time irritating people, bugging the hell out of people," Knox says, "so they can save some money." It's enough to make a lot of folks start trials. Sessile status gap So, central European oak has tree cred. Its coopers are getting bet- ter and better, it holds its own in blind tastings and it has lower prices. What's not to like here? Why isn't this wood a bigger deal? Why don't more wineries spin tales of the romance of the Zem- plén forest and how it makes their wines unique? A few wineries actually do that, or at least mention non-French, non-American oak in public places like websites and tasting notes.