Wines & Vines

38 WINES&VINES February 2018 OAK BARRELS The French Leader in Barrel Alternatives Over 1000 wineries in France and hundreds worldwide benefit from VINEA enological oak quality, consistency, and performance. Jean-Christophe Varron, the owner and founder, pioneered barrel alternatives in France and has over 20 years of experience in adjuncts. VINEA French oak adds volume, length, and layered flavor/aromatic components to your wine for elegant barrel-like results. Guaranteed naturally air-dried Available in VINICERAM ™ ceramic radiant or classic fire toast, VINEA offers a complete collection of alternatives to address your needs at any point in the winemaking process: tank staves • segments • barrel inserts • chips For more information on the VINEA range of oak tools, pricing, and to obtain samples for trial, please contact: THE BOSWELL COMPANY (415) 457-3955 staff@boswellcompany.com www.boswellcompany.com the heartwood is used for high-end furniture and barrels. Hungary has a 1,000-year tradition of bar- rel-making and a longer one of winemaking. The oak forests have been regulated by the government since empress Maria Teresa of the Austro-Hungarian empire promulgated the Forestry Law of 1769. The 100-year cutting cycle was established then, and many of the regulations today are direct descendants of the Forestry Law, Molnar said. (France dates its government control over forests to 1669.) Barrel-making and many other aspects of Hungarian life were stifled by the Soviet Union's domination of the country for much of the 20th century. Only after the Berlin Wall came down did Hungary and other central and eastern European countries have a chance to restart businesses and reach out to markets beyond the Iron Curtain. About a dozen cooperages operate in Hun- gary, and numerous cooperages elsewhere make barrels from Hungarian staves. Total volume for Hungary is 30,000 barrels per year, and in 2017 Kádár made 6,000 barrels that supplied 400 wineries in 12 major wine- making markets. Seasoning staves among trees Kádár's focus recently has been on transform- ing the stave yard—and with it the stave- seasoning process. Encouraged by the experience at sister company Taransaud's operations in Cognac, Kádár has moved its logs and stacks of staves into the forest, or at least next to it, for seasoning. The idea is that Samples on the left side of the chart are all at least 40% Quercus robur, and those on the right are 100% Quercus petraea. Both sides were 24-month-seasoned oak. Source: Kádár Hungary AROMA COMPOUNDS IN HUNGARIAN OAK 1 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 10 oak samples from southwest Hungary 10 oak samples from northeast Hungary n eugenol (0.1 mg/g) n syringaldehyde (0.1 mg/g) n trans-3,5-dimethoxy-4-hydroxy-cinnamaldehyde (mg/g) n cis-whisky lactone (mg/g) n trans-whisky lactone (mg/g)

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