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CO VER S T OR Y ARTISAN TONNELIER EN VALLÉE DU RHÔNE Hungarian and french oak are the same species, quercus petraea. of logistical logjams. Stanfield cautioned, "French truckers or American longshoremen could be on strike, which, in the past, resulted in a few close calls on timely deliveries." American Oak 3-year seasoned The Continental hungarian oak Barrel futures Jason Stout, global sales director of Cooperages 1912 in Napa, Calif., represents both World Cooperage and T.W. Boswell. He discussed the option of buying barrel futures one to two years in advance. "When a client purchases barrel futures, it locks the current price in—or, in some cases, even reduces the price—with a minimal in- vestment that is fully refundable. By making this commitment with our clients, we can reduce costs and minimize risk," he said. According to Stout, the practice is uncommon. Only a few family-owned wineries with stable budgets exercise barrel futures options. Minimum orders range from 50 to 100 barrels. The result is typically around a 5% savings. Considering that the current annual percentage yield on typical money market savings accounts is barely more than 1%, this can be appealing to those with liquid assets and worries about the strength of the U.S. dollar in the volatile currency market. To date, Stout said that no one has asked for a refund prior to delivery. Puncheons JOHN SCHILTER | WINEMAKER THE TRADITION OF PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN COOPER AND WINEMAKER CONTINUES. Francois Peltereau-Villeneuve of Seguin Moreau Napa Cooper- age reported, "We sold more large—500 liters and above—bar- rels than in previous years." Though Peltereau-Villeneuve and other coopers all insist that the recent surge of winemakers skipping down the puncheon path is strictly based on a change in winemaking style, however, the cost-saving potential is undeniable. The higher wine-to-oak ratio, resulting in less oak impact, can be as appealing to some winemakers as the diminished impact on winery budgets. Simply put, a two-barrel capacity puncheon ends up costing 20% less than two barrels. Kent Rasmussen, winemaker at the 20,000-case Kent Rasmus- 707.696.7695 (phone) 2180 Oak Knoll, Napa CA 94558 john@heritagebarrels.com www.heritagebarrels.com 28 Wines & Vines FeBRUARY 201 1 sen Winery based in St. Helena, Calif., has used puncheons for Chardonnay in his wine program for 20 years. "The one issue is that they're backbreaking, even when empty. What puncheons do give you is less oak and a nice aged character. All the good without any of the bad." Rasmussen aged his Chardonnay for two years in 100% new American oak puncheons. "At nine months it would taste very TRUST COOPERAGE