Standard Deviation: Barrel Specifications Are Defined And

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By Gary Werner, Northwest correspondent Standard Deviation BARREL SPECIFICATIONS ARE DEFINED AND DIFFERENTIATED BY HOUSE RULES

mproving consistency is a per- tight grain that I would not call tight stave wood right after they rough- vasive goal for the wine indus- grain.” saw. The process of air-drying actu- try. Markets demand reliable “It’s not just grain,” said Mark ally requires water. Otherwise the replication from wineries, so Heinemann, the North American ends of the staves will cauterize wineries demand the same market manager at Demptos Napa and internal moisture will not draw from their suppliers. We depend Cooperage. “The same is true out. You’ll then end up with crack- on scientific research and technical for toasting and for the initial sea- ing or breaking staves later in the innovation to give us better tanks, soning of the wood. It’s the entire process.” pumps, bottles and closures. Then package of specifications. They are Heinemann agreed and benchmarking and the pursuit of defined by the cooper, and so they explained more – including points best practices deliver us more distinguish us stylistically.” of difference. “Natural air-drying is exacting uniformity within most of They also run contrary to the essential. It develops the staves in these supply categories. very fixed standards expected for So how do barrel producers defy everything from refractometers to the virtual interchangeability that glassware racks. And they raise characterizes many other winery questions: Which factors really AT A GLANCE inputs? Coopers obtain wood from determine the house style of a coo- the same sources and employ the perage? How much do specifica-  Cooperage industry standards same tools and techniques, but tions for these factors vary across are really a spectrum of in-house their handiwork remains remarkably the industry? What do these devia- specifications. distinct. Medium-grained French tions mean to wineries?  Appropriate seasoning or air-dry- oak barrels with medium toast from ing significantly influences barrel one cooperage will yield a notably MORE THAN DRY character. different wine than barrels pro- duced to the very same specifica- “The first variable determining  Metrics for grain terms such as tion by another cooperage. house style is how you age the “tight” or “medium” vary across “Yes, all barrels display a certain wood. That’s really the founda- the industry. house style,” said Martin McCar- tion,” said McCarthy. Note that he  Toasting profile monikers such thy, sales and marketing manager said “how” versus “how long.” as “light” or “heavy” do not have at Radoux USA in Santa Rosa, Calif. The way oak is seasoned in the uniform meanings. “Part of it reflects coopering as a stave yard over two or three years  Barrel production is a true craft, craft. But there’s also the reality of is crucial to the character of the and therefore includes elements few industry-wide standards. As an finished barrels. He explained, “I of the indefinable. example, I’ve seen barrels labeled think everyone sprinkles water over

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of the most expensive inputs for a tic differentiation among coopers. cooperage, after sourcing the wood Those who shorten their air-drying itself. So, it can be compromised time don’t have the mold in contact by corporate ownership decisions. either long enough, or at all.” There are coopers who air-dry some He added that variability in of their wood for only six months. approaches to seasoning extends They use their sprinkler systems to beyond time; they include the phys- force the equivalent of three years ical layout of the rough staves in of rainfall over the wood. Yes, it the yard. strips out bitter, astringent tannins. “That’s another variable from But it doesn’t really mature or sea- one house to the next,” he said. son the oak.” “It’s normally a 90-degree cross-lat- Heinemann further said that tice that allows airflow in between staves must be air-dried in higher- staves. But they are not all square humidity regions for at least two packs. Some are stacked differently years in order to benefit from three depending on where they are being specific molds: aureubasidium pul- dried. For example, you can maxi- lulanas, trichoderma harzianum and mize the drying rates by putting trichoderma koningii. They grow them in octagonal configurations. Mark Heinemann of Demptos Napa Coo- naturally on the wood, and trans- Anyway, you want sun, wind and perage says there are many standards form the staves chemically. rain directly affecting every stave. among cooperages regarding air-drying “They actually increase complex So they should get moved every time. Photo: Gary Werner polysaccharides and polyphenolic few months – the bottom becomes structures in the oak, and those the top and so on. Everything is a way that is more than just ‘dry’ effects are permanent,” he said. cycled. But once again, there are no – they become seasoned or fla- “But their life cycleSkolnik_Dir10_Jan10.qxd is about 18-22 industry 10/19/09 standards.” 10:04 AM Page 1 vored,” he said. “But it’s also one months. So this is a point of stylis- What does this mean to winer-

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ies? Nothing in the short term, if inch. Very tight is 18 to 21 grains they’re happy with the barrels they per inch. (The metric equivalent get from their cooperage partners. is about 1.4 to 1.2 mm per grain.) But coopers who buy their wood Tight is 16 to 17. The medium des- from other suppliers, and don’t ignations are around 10 to 12 and have direct-from-forest sourcing, 12 to 14. The widest is 5 to 8 grains might be dealing with lower-quality per inch (5 to 3 mm).” wood in the future. As an example Consequently, buying the tight- of why, Heinemann noted that est-grained barrels from different Demptos formerly obtained about coopers will likely give a winery 10% more French oak stave wood the same structure. But “medium” than it required for its own produc- at one may be substantively differ- tion – in order to sell it on. But he ent than “medium” at another. This added that those days seem to be matters because grain tightness over. Consequently, wineries that plays a direct role in tannin levels prize consistency in their barrel and extraction rates for the wine. programs need to talk to coopers As rules of thumb, tighter-grained about the continuity of their oak oak offers lower tannin levels and supply chain. slower extractions. Conversely, medium-grain wood contains more GETTING GRANULAR tannin and extracts faster. Of all the factors determining Martin McCarthy of Radoux USA FLAMES OF DIVERSITY house style, the one whose pliabil- points out that there are few industry- ity of meaning may be the great- Most cooperages point to toast- wide standards for the terms used to est surprise is grain. Winemakers ing as the most important factor describe grain tightness and toast lev- could easily assume that “tight” shaping house style, or perhaps the els. Photo: Gary Werner or “medium” at one cooperage second-most important, after sea- means the same thing at other bar- soning. As with grain, winemakers rel producers. We are, after all, talk- “Seguin Moreau has five dif- might assume the industry’s unifor- ing about the same wood. But once ferent grades,” said François mity of basic terminology denotes again, house rules drive the specifi- Peltereau-Villeneuve, president at conformity of meaning. But “medi- cations. Seguin Moreau Napa. “They are um” and “heavy” are in-house defi- “At Radoux, extra-tight means extra-tight, tight, fine, semi-fine nitions at any cooperage. that the growth rings measure less and medium. Their specifications than a millimeter and a half,” said range from 1 millimeter to 5.” McCarthy. “Though, in reality, we “At Demptos, we refer to very see rings at just 1 millimeter. Tight tight grain, tight grain, medium- is designated as grain measuring tight, medium, medium-wide and less than 2 millimeters, and medi- wide,” said Heinemann. “In the um won’t be any greater than 3-1/2 United States, we characterize millimeters.” them by grains or growth rings per

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Website: www.tonnellerie-de-jarnac-16.com Toasting practices have the most influ- ence on a cooperage’s house style.

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“Most general descriptions of “For a medium toast on American toast revolve around the same oak from Missouri, we’ll often go terms,” said Chris Hansen, sales for 20 minutes on one side and 20 manager at Seguin Moreau Napa. minutes on another. But even if you “There are light, medium, medi- speak to four cooperages, and they um-long, medium-plus and heavy. all agree it’s 20 minutes a side at But there is no formal definition the very same temperature, there for these categories. One cooper’s will be stylistic differences.” She medium toast could be 10 minutes explained: “How often do you turn shorter than somebody else’s. So the wood? Are you rocking and actual toasting levels are different. rolling it around? Where do you “Typical toasting times vary from maintain the fire level? Are you add- 30 to 45 minutes,” he added. “But ing water at any point? Do you go there are some coopers who say a straight from the bending fire to the medium toast is simply 30 minutes. toasting fire? All of those nuances They have a clock, and when it hits matter, and they all help shape our 30 minutes that barrel comes off. different house styles.” However, there are other factors “We have to rely on the coopers’ Lee Miller of Nadalié USA points out to consider. What’s the tempera- skill,” added Hansen. “They need that there are many variables in barrel ture outside? What’s the humidity? to use their physical senses when toasting in addition to time on the fire. Those variables alter the speed at they toast. They smell the barrel Photo: Gary Werner which a toasting takes place.” during the process. They listen to Lee Miller, director of operations the sound of the wood over the fire. inside. They use all of their senses at Nadalié USA, agreed that there They touch the outside of the barrel to make sure they are consistently is more going on than time on the to get a feel for temperature. They getting the desired impact.” fire. “Here’s an example,” she said. watch the development of the color This may seem quaint or oddly

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“touchy-feely” to a data-driven “accept” toasting at different rates the issue of house style is indefin- winemaker. But Hansen said there and in different ways able. It’s much the same as two are plenty of similar examples from people attending the same grade day-to-day life. “An analogy we METHOD AND MAGIC school and learning penmanship share with winemakers is ordering from the same teacher. Their hand- a steak at a good restaurant,” he This lack of conformity should writing may be similar, but they still said. “Do they put a timer on and not suggest that coopers are have distinct signatures.” say your medium-rare steak will be shooting from the hip. The indus- In the end, winemakers need done in five minutes? No, the chef try’s most prominent names have to work attentively with different smells it and listens to it during developed their methods over mul- coopers to determine whether and cooking. He or she uses their sens- tiple generations; their efforts are how each house style can contrib- es and their experience to cook it remarkably refined and ever-more ute to the consistent delivery of perfectly each time, even though reproducible. They also point out their own.  the cut and the cooking tempera- that each barrel is legitimately a ture may vary a little.” custom job. And as such, the vari- Gary Werner is a Seattle-based Akin to variation in grain defi- ous numbers and definitions can wine industry journalist and com- nitions, this diversity matters to only be guides to the craft. munications consultant, and the winemakers because of the impact “I’d love to say ‘this’ equates to former communications director for on wine. Lighter toasts retain more ‘that’ in some definite form,” said the Washington Wine Commission. structure as tannin, while heavier Miller. “But it doesn’t work that toasts make a greater aromatic way. We’re playing with fire, water, Comments? Please email us at contribution. Plus, there is a com- time and other factors. There’s just [email protected]. plex relationship between toast and some magic in that mix.” grain, since tighter and wider grains McCarthy concluded, “Some of

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