Suber Oak Technology – Oak Barrel Alternatives: ‘bringing wood to wine’
Bring wood to wine instead of wine to wood.
By using the same traditional seasoning and firing techniques to our range of Oak Adjuncts we are able to replicate this barrel structure in wines without the high expenses of barrel purchase and maintenance. The use of these Oak adjuncts provides the winemaker with greater flexibility with different oak flavour profiles in his oak regime at considerable savings over traditional barrels.
Suber Oak Adjuncts
Custom Made Products
Typical usage: –
Fine ‘Chips’or ‘powders’ by direct addition at the crasher or to the must
‘Chips, Blocks and Mini staves’ added to ‘Tanks’ in infusion nets during maturation
‘Mini staves, Barrel Insert Staves’ used in ‘Neutral’ barrels
Tank staves by direct attachment to rings in tank.
French And American Oaks
Oak Powders
Oak powders added early to the wine can aid in the stability of the colour polymers and offer excellent oxidation protection to the wine.
Oak Chips
As with powders, fine chips may also be used during fermentation and present no problems during wine transfer etc.
Oak Blocks
Typically used post fermentation during the maturation of the wine, although a number of wineries have used the blocks during.
Mini Staves
Used post ferment for the maturation of the wine. Extraction time is generally from 3 – 6 months. For Mini staves the wood is cut longitudinally with the grain.
Tank Staves
Typically used for wine maturation and also for selected fermentations ie Chardonnay. Extraction time is usually 6-9 months
Frequently asked questions
What products do you have?
Suber Oak manufacture the complete range of products from powders/fine chips for use during fermentation through to Mini Stave/Blocks and Tank Staves for wine maturation together with specialist ‘Finishing Oaks’ for use 2-3 months prior to bottling. Our two different toasting processes allows the client to choose from markedly different oak flavour profiles or ‘mix & match’ to broaden the oak flavours extracted into the wine
What are Oak Adjuncts?
Oak adjuncts are oak products used to supplement/replace the use of oak barrels in winemaking. An adjunct is processed from the same wood used for barrel manufacture, into a product that is easily used in winemaking, but importantly at a fraction of the cost of new barrels.
A 200 year old oak tree cut down to manufacture barrels usually results in more than 80% of wasted wood. The wood rejected from barrel manufacture due to cracks, wavy grain etc and thus would not make a ‘wine tight’ barrel can be utilised as an adjunct as we are only after the flavour derived from the wood during toasting. Adjuncts are thus the more environmentally friendly option in winemaking and with today’s research technology and understanding of wood toasting regimes, adjuncts combined with micro-oxidation techniques are proven to emulate the results obtained from barrels.
How do I use them?
Oak adjuncts can be used at all stages of the winemaking process and come in a variety of sizes to suit both fermentation stages and wine aging, and are added directly to the wine either loose or in 5 Kilogram ‘infusion nets’ (similar to very large tea bags)
