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.
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.
Suber Oak Adjuncts
Product Flavour Profiles & Assay Results AWRI
All of our products are regularly tested by the Australian Wine Research Institute (AWRI) for extract flavour profile. The results of this testing is continually updated in our product specifications. A table of these results is included here.Oak_Adjuncts_Analysis.pdf
Individual data sheets for each product are available on request.
Flavour Profiles: –
Oak flavours develop with time & temperature
As oak wood is heated a breakdown of the wood lignates etc leads to the formation of the established oak flavours. Further heating & time lead to the formation of other flavour compounds.
A graphical representaion of this is included here Oak_Flavour_Profiles_Developed_with_Temperature.pdf
The coopers art is in heating (toasting) the wood at the correct temperature and for the required time to form the specific flavours that the winemaker is seeking.
For further information on specific product applications and individual oak assay sheets please contact our local representatives or office
Material Safety Data Sheet: –
An Oak Products MSDS information sheet is available here MSDS_Oak_Extract.pdf
An Oak Products MSDS information sheet is available here MSDS_Oak_Alternative_Products.pdf
Oak Powders
Typically used loose at the crusher or added to the must prior to fermentaion
White Wines: 0.5 – 3 g/Litre of wine
Red Wines: 1.0 – 5 g/Litre of wine
Oak powders added early to the wine can aid in the stability of the colour polymers and offer excellent oxidation protection to the wine. Being very fine they present no problems with pumping over or racking off.
Oak Chips
As with powders, fine chips may also be used during fermentation and present no problems during wine transfer etc. Larger chips are used post ferment to release the fine toasted oak characters into the wine. Typically larger chips are packaged into Food Grade Nylon nets holding 5 Kgs of product. These infusion nets are either placed into the tanks loosely or tied off ‘Tea Bag’ fashion to mounts inside the tanks.
White wines: 0.5 – 4 g/Litre of wine
Red Wines: 1.0 – 6 g/Litre of wine
Oak Blocks
Typically used post fermentation during the maturation of the wine, although a number of wineries have used the blocks during Chardonnay ferments with great success. Supplied pre packaged in 5Kg infusion nets for direct application to tankage. Being cut across the wood grain the extraction times are faster allowing utilisation of the oak within 6-12 weeks. It must be remembered that ‘time’ is the best for integration of the oak into the wine.
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. This results in a slower extrraction of the oak characters allowing for integration of flavours as they extract into the wine. Supplied pre packaged in 5Kg infusion nets for direct application to tankage.
White Wines: 0.5 – 4 g/Litre of wine
Red Wines: 1.0 – 6 g/Litre of wine
Tank Staves
Typically used for wine maturation and also for selected fermentations ie Chardonnay. Extraction time is usually 6-9 months. Our standard sized tank staves are supplied in ‘bundles’ of 10 staves tied at one end with food grade nylon straps allowing for quick installation and removal from tank systems. The single tie allows the staves to ‘fan’ out ensuring good wine contact. Tank staves are most often dosed at rates of surface area per volume of wine or as ‘New Barrique Equivilents’ *Note that it is generally accepted that a barrique equivilent of 50-60% as tank staves has the same extractive effect as a new barrique*
White Wines: 3 – 5 square metres / 1000 Litres
Red Wines: 4 – 8 square metres / 1000 Litres