Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/957564
April 2018 WINES&VINES 51 OAK BARREL ALTERNATIVES inside of plastic or stainless tanks, as well as shorter versions that are small enough to insert into a bung hole to rehabilitate used barrels. Staves should also be a minimum of 8mm thick and sufficiently long so that the internal mass of the stave allows a much longer time to reach the proper toasted color. Particles: This category in- cludes all shapes and sizes that are thinner and smaller than staves, and where the major per- centage of its wood is toasted in color. These items are sometimes also known as blocks or dominos. Particles are usually short and virtually uniform in their toasted color throughout. Granulate/powder: This cat- egory is defined by surface-to- volume ratios. Oak particles that range from less than 1 mm in any direction to pieces about 4 to 8 mm in their longest dimensions and less than 1 to 2 mm in any other dimension would qualify for this category. Chipping without over-oaking Some winemakers (and wine writers) claim that they can tell a "chipped" wine by the taste. As with many new techniques, there has been a long learning curve as winemakers started working with these products. Just as a wine can be over-oaked in a barrel, misus- ing oak alternatives can just as easily ruin a good wine. I have been using oak alternatives for more than 30 years and have had occasions to run side-by-side ex- periments with barrels and oak alternative treatments on the same wine. The differences be- tween the two have been mini- The Gourmet Barrel www.boswellcompany.com • (415) 457-3955 • staff @ boswellcompany.com ECLAT 'gourmet' ECLAT 'gourmet' French barrels are Fr ECLAT 'gourmet' French barrels are rrels ECLAT 'gourmet' French barrels are are the creation of owner Jean-Christophe the creation of owner Jean-Christophe Varron. His 35 years of history and knowledge in the cooperage world led to the innovation of ECLAT. The vision derives from the recognition that new oak barrels should allow the grapes to speak for themselves and help the wine shine. Proprietary ceramic radiant toasting provides uniform cooking deep into the stave wood, caramelizing the wood sugars without smoky characters. ECLAT barrels deliver pure fruit expression to enhance multiple varietals. Use ECLAT on your most important lots to highlight the meticulous work you do in the vineyards to produce the highest quality fruit. For barrel pricing and more information, please contact The Boswell Company at (415) 457-3955 or email staff @ boswellcompany.com. Oak products as different looking as staves, left, and spirals provide flavor extraction at very different rates based on the surface area exposed to the wine.