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WINEMAKING ent stations to check the air for traces of any contaminants. "Wood is a natural product, and I'm sure these safeguards are preventing a lot of issues," Hansen said. More and more coopers are establish- ing protocols to test for and prevent contamination, Remy said. "It has been a very important improvement in the wine industry to check these things and under- stand where it's coming from." A couple of decades ago, Remy said, the view of a barrel was simple. Now it's seen by the industry as a sensitive link in the supply chain for producing premium wine. All the testing and steps need to en- sure traceability create what Remy called a "very complex system." Canton Cooperage is located in central Kentucky, though it is part of the Chene & Cie Group that also includes Tonnel- lerie Taransaud—one of the first coopers to apply stringent production controls to prevent TCA contamination. Testing begins when the wood is re- ceived, through the seasoning process and at every stage of production. A run of bar- rels may require up to two or three lots of wood staves, and each lot needs testing. "You need to check from the beginning all the lots you use for the staves." onnellerie Vicard patented a process that it claims eliminates the risk of blisters. The cooper's "micro-perforation" process involves a stainless steel roller being run over stave wood. The roller cuts small slits into the wood that allow steam to escape from the staves during toasting. "These slits are so narrow that there is no increased risk of microbial con- tamination," said Gary Chappell, international manager for Bouchard Cooperages. Vicard had its "micro-perforation" process reviewed by a lab in France. The lab soaked untreated staves and staves with slits into wine known to harbor Brettanomyces and acetic bacteria. The lab found that staves with slits and those with none ended up with the same levels of contamination. A.A. Small cuts to prevent blisters T If a stave lot tests clean, and part of it is used for barrel production and the rest is returned to storage, Remy said the rest of the lot will need to be retested before it's used for barrels. But it's not just the wood. Remy said all the silicon bungs used to seal bungholes for shipment must be checked as well as the factory that makes the bungs. Packag- ing materials also need to be checked. If a clean barrel is wrapped in tainted card- board, "that stuff is going to give you full contamination." The warehouse where the barrels are stored for shipment also requires regular testing, and when it's time to ship, the con- tainers must undergo analysis. Remy said that when the company receives contain- ers it will run tests and wait a few days to ensure they're clean before sending barrels out to customers. "For us it's a detail, but we never use wooden pallets for transports that we get on the market. We are using pallets we make with our own wood." Every day, Remy said, Canton ships out samples to a lab in Cognac, France, YOUR SUCCESS IS OUR PRIORITY WINES & VINES DECEMBER 2012 39