Fermentation with Oak & Designing a Barrel Program

1. Fermentation with Oak&Designing a Barrel Program Joshua Maloney Red Winemaker Chateau Ste. Michelle

2. Overview • Fermentation with Oak • Goals • Factors that influence effect • Common Methods • Examples • Designing a Barrel Program • General Overview of CSM Red Barrel Program • Evaluation and Evolution of the Program • Personal Experiences • Not necessarily universally accepted practices

3. Fermentation with Oak

4. Fermentation with OakWhat is the Goal? • Affecting Style • Level of Expression / Integration • Oak Expression – Quantity of Oak Aroma and Flavor, not necessarily quality • Oak Integration – Oak aromas or flavors that are virtually indiscernible from the grape aromas or flavors • Alteration / Removal of specific aromas • Vegetal aromas

5. Factors that influence Expression & Integration • Type of Oak • Toast Level / Oak Source affects type and quality of tannin • Relationship between surface area/volume and extraction rate • Higher Surface Area/Volume ratio corresponds to faster extraction

6. Factors that influence Expression & Integration • Temperature • Higher temperatures correspond to faster extraction rates • They also correspond to faster fermentation rates • Condition of the wine • % Solids • “Clean” wines tend to extract oak faster than “Dirty” wines

7. Expression vs. Integration • Faster Extraction • High expression, Low integration • Slower Extraction • Low expression, High integration

8. Design Oak Fermentation Protocols for different outcomes • High Expression / Low Integration • Use Chips, not barrels • Ferment Warm & Fast • Get the juice as clean as possible • Low Expression / High Integration • Use barrels • Ferment cool & Slow • Let the juice stay dirty

9. Fermentation with Oak is not just for Whites • MLF for Reds in Barrel • Better integration • Cooler barrel room temperatures slow down MLF • Safe winemaking doesn’t always make the best wine • Importance of monitoring • Primary Fermentation and Oak Contact • Oak Chips

10. Oak Chips and Red Fermentation • Goals for Fermentation • Differ from goals for Aging • Reduction / Elimination of Vegetal characters • Little to no perceptible Oak character • Addition Rates and observed effect

11. Oak Chip Addition Rates

12. Designing a Barrel Program

13. Chateau Ste. MichelleRed Program Overview • 44,000 barrels total • 2009 Barrel Purchase • 6,000 barrels total • 75 different barrel types • 1/3 French, 2/3 American • Quantity determined by case volume • Desired (budgeted) % New Oak x Case volume = # of barrels • Don’t forget about total barrel needs (i.e. used barrels)

14. Evaluation • Barrels vs. Grapes • Both having growing seasons • Variability • Both use human hands to be fashioned into an end product • If you scrutinize your grapes, you should also scrutinize your barrels • Evaluation is key • Improving barrel usage • Guarding against changes at cooperage • Customizing for your purpose

15. Barrel Trial Method • Create “Mother” Lot • Fill multiple barrel types • FO Trial / AO Trial / Syrah Trial • Evaluate at regular intervals • Impressions and impact change over time • The best barrel at 6 months might be the worst at 18 months • Use evaluations to influence barrel purchases and applications

16. Other Points to Consider • Taste with your Coopers • Show them their barrels in context with their competitors • Point out benchmarks, make changes to underperforming barrels • Find coopers that speak your language • Continual Evaluation and Evolution • Keep working with Coopers to get better barrels, even from your top performers • Make small changes from year to year

17. Thank You • Questions? • Joshua.Maloney@ste-michelle.com