Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/267019
7 0 V I N E YA R D & W I N E RY M A N A G E M E N T | M a r - A p r 2 014 w w w. v w m m e d i a . c o m Tank which looks conventional at first. One could miss the two see-through staves running top to bottom, made of food-quality Plexi- glas. In 2011, Seguin Moreau deliv- ered 44 vats fitted with transparent staves and retrofitted some others at Mouton. The new cellar and tanks were unveiled in June 2013, after which, according to an agreement with the winery, Moreau may offer the trans- parent-stave option more broadly. Christopher Hansen, general man- ager of the cooperage's Napa, Calif., division, said the stave option is now offered on upright tanks between 20 and 220 hectoliters, for 1,000 euros. A version was set to be unveiled in the United States at the 2014 Unified Wine & Grape Symposium in Sacramento, Calif. "Coopers have been putting Plexiglas heads into barrels for many years," Hansen said. "We and Mouton wanted to do this for upright tanks." Tanks need to have a minimum of two transparent staves to allow enough light into the closed ves- sel to be able to see into the wine, especially a red wine. The clear staves allow a top-to-bottom view of the fermentation to enable wine- makers to see the range of activity at a glance – from filling of the tank and the vigor of fermentation to the Seguin Moreau created tanks with transparent staves for Château Mouton Roths- child. The see-through staves allow winemakers to view fermentations in action. Carlsen & Associates 707-431-2000 "When we needed a lees sampler that didn't exist, Carlsen & Associates designed, fabricated, and delivered one to us within two weeks. If they made tanks and barrels, we would surely be the first Carlsen-only winery." Andrew Delos Winemaker EnRoute Winery "