Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/74662
IDL_Dir11 11/18/10 4:21 PM Page 1 WINEMAKING NA VIGA TION Iván D.Lessner Process Solutions Inc. Process & Product Development Alcoholic & Non Alcoholic Beverage Industry Equipment Sales IDL ■ R. WAGNER: Rapid SO2, TA ■ ERBSLOEH: Fining & Treatment Agents, Yeasts, Enzymes, CelluFluxx (D.E. Replacement) ■ TRUST: Quality Hungarian Oak Barrels & Chips ■ EMD: Reflectoquant Analyzer & Kits Alasco_Nov04 1164 Lee Street, White Rock, B.C. V4B 4P4 Canada Phone: (604) 538-2713 Fax: (604) 538-4517 www.idlconsulting.com 10/1/04 11:44 AM Page 1 ALASCO Rubber & Plastics ...for 20+ years the innovative leader in solid & fermentation barrel closures! DALCO DUALL • fermentation bung • solid bung • easy to use • easy to clean CARBOY DUALL • fits over outer neck • fits carboys & beer kegs SOLID BUNGS • custom colors • with or without grip • a size for every barrel GroupeCharlois_Jan11.qxp 12/14/10 11:03 AM Page 1 full line of winery equipment • bottling line parts • tank gaskets & seals • custom molded parts • 805/543-3008 phone • 650/595-4100 phone • 805/543-5349 fax • www.alasco.com • email@alasco.com How big is the problem? The Federation of French Coopers says that based on its research and monitoring in recent years, somewhere around 0.03%-0.04% of new oak barrels carry some TCA, which translates to a little more than 100 barrels per year in the overall French production of 500,000 new barrels. Chatonnet's estimate is that the incidence is five to 10 times higher, probably in the 0.15%-0.25% range, but that since we do not know all the sources of the problem, every barrel is at risk. He argues that the problem has been underestimated because TCA may be present only in small, localized, unpredictable areas of staves, and it can be found deep enough inside staves to be unaf- fected by the toasting regimen for barrel production. His hypoth- esis is that the contamination is happening somewhere during the drying of staves, and some form of microorganism is involved. Neither of these figures is very large—certainly not the same or- der of magnitude of cork taint in its glory days. But it is certainly possible for a bad barrel to doom a small producer's boutique cuvée, or knock the fruit out of a whole tank. One bad cork ruins one bottle; one bad barrel can multiply its effects. One difficulty in gauging the extent of the barrel taint problem is that no one really knows how you sample half a billion barrels. (OK, you could use the Excell Lab test.) The Federation of French Coopers has an oversight commission that collects and analyzes data about suspicious barrels. Chatonnet's research analyzed sev- eral barrels from several coopers over several years—all of them bad barrels, in search of the origins of the taint—and his broader estimates are based on his general sense of the industry, not rigor- ous sampling. "Barrel TCA is one potential source of contamination, but not a major source." —Gordon Burns, ETS Laboratories I did some non-rigorous sampling of my own. Mel Knox, who brokers barrels from Taransaud and Francois Frères in Northern California, says he has gotten "very few complaints about barrel TCA, ever," including two calls in recent years claiming 2 parts per million TCA in wine in barrels. (That's enough to create a sensory problem.) He contrasts the current standards for winery products in general, not just barrels, with those of 20 years ago: "In the old days, when I sold bottles, you would get containers, open the door, and it smelled like the eighth grade physical educa- tion boys locker room. I'd have to get the bottles washed." Gordon Burns at St. Helena, Calif.-based ETS Laboratories, which has much experience working with wineries in testing for TCA contamination in various forms, agrees that the problem of new barrel TCA, while real, is comparatively small. "Barrel TCA is one potential source of contamination, but not a major source. There's nothing new on the front that barrels can be a source, but also no increasing incidence that we have seen. Barrels are a small part of the source of anisoles." Enologist Christian Butzke at Purdue University has spent years on the trail of TCA, primarily in corks. He agrees that there are many ways new barrels could become tainted, but he sees no evi- dence that it actually happens on a large scale. "We're not seeing whole batches of wine tainted," he says, "and there's no history of TCA contamination in all those years of Bourbon barrels." He ac- knowledges that barrel TCA can happen, just like cork taint, but 120 Wines & Vines JAnUARY 2011 Plus Contact Us! QSEE US AT UNIFIED, BOOTH #920 QSEE US AT UNIFIED, BOOTH #1121