Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/658375
April 2016 WINES&VINES 45 OAK BARREL ALTERNATIVES CONCENTRATION OF OAK VOLATILES IN TOASTED OAK Oak Samples Concentration (μg/g) cis-oak lactone trans-oak lactone guaiacol 4-methyl guaiacol eugenol Vanillin furfural 5-methyl furfural Aroma Descriptors coconut, vanilla coconut, vanilla smoky, burnt bacon smoky clove vanilla caramel, vanilla caramel New French oak a nd–11.4 nd–6.8 2.3–18.5 1.3–10.2 0.7–2.3 53–190 108–963 14–148 Reclaimed French oak b nd–33.4 nd–73.1 1.5–11.6 0.8–4.9 2.7–7.7 58–115 786–1376 54–213 New American oak a 12.3–47.9 3.3–5.3 4.2–13.5 0.9–7.9 4.2–6.1 42–140 55–1539 6–237 Reclaimed American oak c nd–65.5 nd–9.1 0.8–12.3 0.6–5.6 2.3–6.2 70–137 412–1134 41–136 nd = not detected a Data reported in Alañón et al. (2012), Fernández de Simón et al. (2010) and Campbell et al. (2005). b Values are means from 24 replicates; c Values are means from 22 replicates. represent an untapped source of high-quality oak that can be "reclaimed" for use in wine maturation. The potential for contamination by the spoilage yeast Brettanomyces in re- claimed oak also was investigated. Flavor potential of reclaimed oak battens Several used French and American barrels were "reclaimed" (see photos on page 43). This in- volved barrels being broken down into their individual staves, while the wine-affected por- tion of oak was removed and discarded. The remaining oak was then split lengthways into battens and processed to remove barrel grooves and expose the fresh grain of the wood. Pressure and far-infrared (FIR) heat were then applied to the resulting oak battens to simultaneously straighten them and generate oak volatiles. In this way, the 2.1 square-meter internal surface area of a 225-liter barrel yields approximately 8 square meters of reclaimed oak battens, sub- stantially increasing the wine volume that can be matured using the same oak wood. To evalu- ate the flavor potential of the new oak battens, 1mm-thick shavings were taken from a number of samples (24 reclaimed French oak battens