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CO VER S T OR Y oaky, but at two years it mellowed. It was consistently not woody, to the point people would accuse me of not putting it in oak at all." american oak and hybrid barrels Stout, from Cooperages 1912, noticed a recent increase in sales of American white oak barrels. He attributes this to the increase in the quality of American white oak, scientifically known as quercus alba. However, Stout noticed that some wine- makers aren't using it as a primary means of oak expression. Rather, winemakers who have predominantly French oak pro- grams are incorporating a few American oak barrels into their blends. With the cost of American oak barrels typically 60% less than French oak, it makes you wonder: Which came first, a desire for a new style or the need to lower costs? Hybrid barrels with American oak staves and French oak heads are another way to stretch barrel budgets. For the sake of comparison, a French oak Bordeaux barrel at one cooperage costs $810. An American oak barrel of the same size costs $380. A hybrid barrel costs $445. Considering that the head represents 25%-30% of the sur- face area of a barrel, it's an option worth machinery is used to precisely place hoops around a Hungarian oak barrel. BarrelsBest-Vadai_Jan11.qxp 12/9/10 2:57 PM Page 1 VADAI BARRELS Lowest Factory Price in the U.S.A. French & Hungarian Style Barrels The Zemplen Forest Barrel Won the Highest Recognition in the Italian Competition for "The Best Tasting Wine" Against 10 French & 5 American Cooperages WINEPRESS 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13 & 40 GALLON VINEGAR BARREL 1, 1.5, 2.6, & 5 GALLON PICKLE BARRELS 5 & 8 GALLON OAK CHIPS • BARREL BUNGS BARRELS 1/8 TO 265 GALLON "Winemakers in the USA & Other countries say they love the taste of their wine in Vadai Barrels better than any other barrel!" looking into for some—especially consider- ing the potential 45% savings in cost. The heads can be toasted or untoasted depend- ing on the winemaker's style and variety destined for the barrel. Clay Mauritson, winemaker from 9,000- case Mauritson Family Winery in Healds- burg, Calif., sources his hybrid barrels from Seguin Moreau in Napa. "Though we purchase more Seguin Moreau hybrid barrels than any other single barrel, they only represent about 15% of our annual barrel purchases. For our Rockpile Zins, the hybrid barrels represent about 40% of the oak used," he said. When asked what led to his decision to bring hybrid barrels into his wine program, Mauritson replied, "The only consider- ation was stylistic, but the 'value' is a great plus. If you were to take 33% of the cost of the average French barrel we are using and add that to 66% of the cost of our American barrels, it is substantially more than what we pay for the hybrid barrels." Check out WinePress.US for Comments vadaiwinebarrels.com L.A. OFFICE (626) 289-8250 vadaiworldtd@sbcglobal.net 30 Wines & Vines FeBRUARY 201 1 TRUST COOPERAGE