Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/776679
6 WINES&VINES February 2017 A member of Wine Communications Group Inc. ADVERTISING Vice President and Director of Sales Jacques Brix jbrix@winesandvines.com (707) 473-0244 West Lydia Hall lydia@winesandvines.com (415) 453-9700, ext. 103 Midwest Hooper Jones hooperhja@aol.com (847) 486-1021 East (except New York) Laura Lemos laura@boja.com (973) 822-9274 New York and International Dave Bayard dave@bayard.com (973) 822-9275 Advertising Production Manager April Kushner ads@winesandvines.com DIGITAL EDITION All print subscribers now get digital access to Wines & Vines. You can: • DOWNLOAD pages or full issues • BROWSE current and archived issues • WATCH videos • ACCESS via desktop, tablet or smartphone • SEARCH by keyword or table of contents • NAVIGATE by topic or page thumbnail • QUESTIONS? Contact customer ser- vice at custserv@winesandvines.com or (866) 453-9701 Monday-Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. PDT. 34 WINES& BARRELS How to keep track of and protect your oak barrels for multiple vintages CONNECT WITH US CONTRIBUTORS All those new barrels stacked in your cellar at harvest time are an investment that can help improve your wine for years if stored and handled properly. Senior editor Andrew Adams spoke with wine- makers at three wineries with a significant amount of wine in barrels for a report starting on page 34 about how they store, maintain and clean their barrels to ensure they stay in top shape all year. The ar- ticle also covers the systems these winemakers use to keep close track of large barrel inventories. Observing "there is little evidence that uniformity of ripeness between clusters leads to better wine quality," viticulturist Michael Sipiora of Treasury Wine Estates set out to conduct research on variable ripeness levels between clusters. He and researcher Amanda Cihlar report what they learned on page 70 in "Evidence of Phenological Shoot Autonomy in Grapevines." Sipiora is the regional viticulturist for Treasury proper- ties in Napa, which include Beringer Vineyards, Beaulieu Vineyard, Provenance Winery, Sterling Vineyards and Stags' Leap Winery. Winemakers have found that certain parts of a vineyard can yield very high-value wines. The problem: How do you determine the specific areas where those vines are growing within a given vineyard? Professor of viticulture Andrew Reynolds and his team at Brock University set up a research project to see if proximal sensing technol- ogy could be used to find those special areas. His article describing the techniques the team used and the results they found begins on page 82. WINESANDVINES.COM FEBRUARY 2017 GET THE MOST FROM BARRELS Irrigation Systems • New Viticulture Research Managing Barrel Inventory First-Growth Oak Trial ON THE COVER Dan Petroski, winemaker at Larkmead Vineyards in Calistoga, Calif., racks a barrel of the 2014 Solari prior to bottling in this month's cover image, taken by Jimmy Hayes. For details about how winemakers track and care for oak barrels, see "Managing Barrel Inventory and Investment" on page 34. QUESTION FOR FEBRUARY: What do you look for when choosing a cooper? Nate Weiss Director of winemaking Silver Oak & Twomey Cellars Oakville, Calif. When choosing a cooperage, we value consistency, knowl- edge and trust. We want to know that the barrels will give consistent results from vintage to vintage and barrel to barrel. The most reassuring thing we hear from a cooper is, "I don't think this barrel will work for you." It means they understand their product and our stylistic goals. Mark Clarin Winemaker McGrail Vineyards and Winery Livermore, Calif. Choosing a cooper is as impor- tant as choosing a vineyard. The good news is there are many coopers; the bad news is their supply comes from limited sources sought after by many. I think tree sourcing is important, so I look for coopers that get those trees. Technology has vastly improved consistency in crafting. Relationships get built over time, and you try to hang onto them. Carol Shelton Owner and winemaker Carol Shelton Wines Santa Rosa, Calif. A track record of what their barrels taste like and that they are consistent as far as quality. Good references from other people, but also they deliver on time and have clean wood that doesn't leak—those are the minimum performance things. For flavors, I like very round flavors and a lot of spice.