Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/74662
Winemaker a swell idea or a non-starter. The eruption of interest in barrel taint began in late summer, when Pascal Chatonnet of the Excell Laboratory in Bordeaux announced research indicating that the incidence of TCA contamination in new French oak barrels was higher than previously assumed, that the problem was increas- ing and—worst of all—that the origin of the troubles was as yet unknown. The findings were accepted for publication in the Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry and made available on the journal's website. While research to identify the source of the problem continues, I Chatonnet and the Excell Lab also offered a temporary fix: a testing protocol that could help cooperages and wineries separate the bad barrels from the good for anywhere from $5 to $15 per barrel. Needles to say, the oak folk were not amused. Grumpy coopers Since Wines & Vines is a family-oriented wine trade mag- azine, I can't reproduce some of the comments being made ElectroSteam_June08 4/8/08 2:40 PM Page 1 Is Barrel TCA the New Cork Taint? Inquiring TIM P A T TERSON s contamination of French oak barrels by TCA the new cork taint? Or is this just old news wrapped in fresh press releases? That question may be the biggest 2010 year-end controversy in the wine trade, overshadowing old re- liables like whether screwcaps make for clean wines or reduced wines, or whether genetically modified yeast is Highlights • French researcher Pascal Chatonnet suggested that TCA taint is more common in new oak barrels than previously assumed. He has not identified exact sources of the TCA. • Chatonnet's company, Excell Laboratory, also offers a testing protocol that could be used to identify bad barrels. • Major French cooperages heatedly responded that the research is flawed, the problem is quite small and the barrel industry has been working on it for years. about Monsieur Chatonnet and his lab mates. However, you can construe the flavor from my conversation with Francois Peltereau-Villeneuve, president of Seguin-Moreau Napa Coo- perage, which started with, "It's nothing but a scam, a way to make money by scaring people off. Here you have a guy who says, 'Look at how bad this problem is, how terrible the issue.' Trust_Dir11.qxp 10/28/10 3:09 PM Page 1 QSEE US AT UNIFIED, BOOTH #1709 118 Wines & Vines JAnUARY 2011