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Terroir against the grain?
It seems that the notion of quality is being built into an argument about grain versus terroir in French oak barrels (See "How French Are French Barrels?" winesandvines.com Headlines, June 26. Read it on page 34). As a winemaker and former cooperage research enologist, my opinion is that both issues are relevant, along with other factors as well.
Grain tightness is an important element in quality barrels to be sure. But what is grain tightness? I hear these words a lot, but what do they mean? Are there universal standards for what constitutes loose, medium or tight grain? As for terroir, unless the soils and weather patterns are identical in all forest areas, it seems logical that the terroir will indeed have some relevance to quality.
But so will the seasoning of the wood. Where the wood is cured and for how long also have large impacts on quality. Why is this not in the discussion? The ability to quantify these variables and certify them against agreed-upon standards currently exists. Once the politics are taken care of, perhaps this can actually happen.
Tim Olson
Owner/winemaker, Olson Ogden Wines
Sebastopol, Calif.
Forest origins have steadily grown into a selling point that many winemakers have bought into and by which many cooperages have cornered themselves. While certain natural elements are responsible for grain tightness and terroir qualities, forest management plays the most significant role.
Grain tightness is murky business, because each cooperage grades and assigns standards differently. Grain tightness can vary wildly in a single forest, and thus in order to have an economically viable product, mills and coopers are prone to maintain certain ranges of ambiguity.
In no way does this excuse them for being dishonest about their sources or their lack of courage in ending misleading selling terms. Tim (previous commenter) makes a good point that should come up more: Aging of the oak, including locale and elemental exposure, greatly impacts oak contribution in wine.
Time will tell as to the honesty and direction cooperages take, but what matters in the end is the consistency of the oak profiles you get from any given cooper.
Patrick Dobbins
Wine barrel consultant, The Boswell Co.
San Rafael, Calif.
Grain tightness is an important element in quality barrels to be sure. But what is grain tightness? I hear these words a lot, but what do they mean? Are there universal standards for what constitutes loose, medium or tight grain? As for terroir, unless the soils and weather patterns are identical in all forest areas, it seems logical that the terroir will indeed have some relevance to quality.
But so will the seasoning of the wood. Where the wood is cured and for how long also have large impacts on quality. Why is this not in the discussion? The ability to quantify these variables and certify them against agreed-upon standards currently exists. Once the politics are taken care of, perhaps this can actually happen.
Tim Olson
Owner/winemaker, Olson Ogden Wines
Sebastopol, Calif.
Forest origins have steadily grown into a selling point that many winemakers have bought into and by which many cooperages have cornered themselves. While certain natural elements are responsible for grain tightness and terroir qualities, forest management plays the most significant role.
Grain tightness is murky business, because each cooperage grades and assigns standards differently. Grain tightness can vary wildly in a single forest, and thus in order to have an economically viable product, mills and coopers are prone to maintain certain ranges of ambiguity.
In no way does this excuse them for being dishonest about their sources or their lack of courage in ending misleading selling terms. Tim (previous commenter) makes a good point that should come up more: Aging of the oak, including locale and elemental exposure, greatly impacts oak contribution in wine.
Time will tell as to the honesty and direction cooperages take, but what matters in the end is the consistency of the oak profiles you get from any given cooper.
Patrick Dobbins
Wine barrel consultant, The Boswell Co.
San Rafael, Calif.
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