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February 2016 WINES&VINES 23 WINE INDUSTRY NEWS S t. Helena, Calif.—Wines & Vi n e s e d i t o r s h a v e planned more interactivity and tastings for the second annual Wines & Vines Oak Con- ference to be held April 27 in St. Helena. The combination of edu- cational seminars and a focused trade show will give attending winemakers many chances to taste the varied effects of oak on wine. One big change 2015 is that event sponsors are invited to bring their own trial wines to offer at their booths in the spa- cious barrel room of the historic Culinary Institute of America, Greystone. Winemakers and pur- chasing managers who are shop- ping for barrels will have three one-hour opportunities to meet with coopers and taste the impact of their products. Two one-hour tasting labs also will be conducted as breakout ses- sions, and attendees can choose to attend the barrel trials session or the oak adjuncts trials session. Leading the oak adjunct tasting will be Galina Seabrook, an expe- rienced winemaker and former technical advisor with wine tech- nology leaders Vinovation and Oenodev. Seabrook has become one of the most knowledgeable winemakers in micro-oxygenation and oak adjuncts, and she is cur- rently the oak infusion expert for Innerstave. The topic of her presentation is "Using Oak Adjuncts for Specific Winemaking Goals." Saying too many winemakers are imprecise about their use of adjuncts, Seabrook will reveal how to avoid common winemaking mistakes. "You should use oak smartly and think in advance about what you want to achieve, if you want to make a well-balanced, high-qual- ity wine," she says. Respected winemakers for iconic brands Sonoma-Cutrer and Pine Ridge will lead the other tast- ing lab, focusing on barrels trials with Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. Cara Morrison, Chardonnay winemaker at Sonoma-Cutrer Vineyards in Windsor, Calif., pur- chases oak from the same French forest and then sends staves to different coopers for toasting and assembly. Morrison's session will examine cooperage variation and provide an opportunity to discuss barrel fermentation. Michael Beaulac, winemaker and general manager of Pine Ridge Vineyards of Napa, Calif., will present four wines from dis- tinct districts of Napa Valley and discuss how he goes about match- ing each to a specific cooperage through an extensive trial process. Beaulac says the vineyard ac- counts for 90% of the wine's char- acteristics, and it's the barrel that adds that final, pivotal 10%. Another approach to oak and sensory perception will be pre- sented by Tim Hanni, Master of Wine, trained chef, consultant to the wine industry and an expert on the physiology of taste. Hanni will address "Consumer Perception and Oak Flavor Profiles" in his presentation. For more information including other speakers and topics, or to register for $229 go to wvoak.com, or call (415) 453-9700, ext. 102. Interactive Conference to Emphasize Oak Trials " You should use oak smartly and think in advance about what you want to achieve." —Galina Seabrook, Innerstave infusion expert For more information contact your sales representative or email us at info@seguinmoreau.com ICONE RANGE