Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/51841
WINERY "Most general descriptions of toast revolve around the same terms," said Chris Hansen, sales manager at Seguin Moreau Napa. "There are light, medium, medi- um-long, medium-plus and heavy. But there is no formal definition for these categories. One cooper's medium toast could be 10 minutes shorter than somebody else's. So actual toasting levels are different. "Typical toasting times vary from 30 to 45 minutes," he added. "But there are some coopers who say a medium toast is simply 30 minutes. They have a clock, and when it hits 30 minutes that barrel comes off. However, there are other factors to consider. What's the tempera- ture outside? What's the humidity? Those variables alter the speed at which a toasting takes place." Lee Miller, director of operations at Nadalié USA, agreed that there is more going on than time on the fire. "Here's an example," she said. "For a medium toast on American oak from Missouri, we'll often go for 20 minutes on one side and 20 minutes on another. But even if you speak to four cooperages, and they all agree it's 20 minutes a side at the very same temperature, there will be stylistic differences." She explained: "How often do you turn the wood? Are you rocking and rolling it around? Where do you maintain the fire level? Are you add- ing water at any point? Do you go straight from the bending fire to the toasting fire? All of those nuances matter, and they all help shape our different house styles." "We have to rely on the coopers' skill," added Hansen. "They need to use their physical senses when they toast. They smell the barrel during the process. They listen to the sound of the wood over the fire. They touch the outside of the barrel to get a feel for temperature. They watch the development of the color Lee Miller of Nadalié USA points out that there are many variables in barrel toasting in addition to time on the fire. Photo: Gary Werner inside. They use all of their senses to make sure they are consistently getting the desired impact." This may seem quaint or oddly Two years ago, we told the world we could replicate the fl avors of a French oak barrel by alternative means. Experts balked, then proved our point in blind tastings, actually choosing our fl avors over those of prestigious French barrels. We didn't stop there. Today we're offering the tools to recreate fl avor profi les of a whole range of different barrels. Whether they come from France or Kentucky, Hungary or Spain. Never before have winemakers had such a wide array of fl avor controls at their command. ® StaVın Inc, P.O.Box 1693, Sausalito,CA 94966 (415) 331-7849 f (415) 331-0516 stavin.com WWW.VWM-ONLINE.COM JAN - FEB 2012 VINEYARD & WINERY MANAGEMENT 41 © 2011 StaVin Inc.