Vessels Flashcards
Stainless steel, entry level
Berri Estates, AU. Wines for Accolade group. 100% stainless steel.
Stainless steel, high-end (2)
Robert Weil, Rheingau: use of stainless steel tanks (and traditional large oak casks) on Riesling Trocken. Well respected wines retail for over $40 USD.
Julien Brocard, Chablis: biodynamic producer wishes to reflect terroir. Use of stainless steel, or neutral oak for wines which need more oxygen.
Oak, entry level
Gallo: use of oak chips at all toast levels for $5 wines. Use of staves in tank for $7-15. More elegant than chips.
Oak chips, cost
High-end Oenosylva chips ($80/10kg) add less than $0.01 per 750 mL bottle.
Oak barrel, costs
$950 Sirugue barrique add $3 per $750 mL bottle.
Less expensive AO $500/225L = $1.65/bottle
Stainless steel, costs
Custom La Garde 2100 L tank is $15,200 USD
Acacia oak, costs
$800s for 225 L (more expensive than AO, less expensive than FO)
Acacia oak, examples (3)
Chateau Montelena, Napa. Acacia is beneficial in moderation, as gives textured mouthfeel to their Sauvignon Blanc.
Cinder Wines, Idaho. Used to make all Chardonnay with up to 10% new French oak. Now phasing out new French oak in favor of 10% acacia. The acacia helps her make a Chardonnay that’s powerful and graceful but with much more subtle aromas.
Cooperative Ormarine, Picpoul. 500 L acacia from Tonellerie Millet and lees has made the wine more complex and concentrated.
Concrete, entry level
Halewood, Romania. Had to bring in army to dynamite massive old concrete vats in winery they wanted to modernize in early 1990s. Hard to keep clean and lack of flexibility for producers who may want to work with smaller lots of wine.
Concrete, high end
Pieropan, Soave. Uses concrete for both fermentation/maturation. Wine filters better naturally in concrete than in stainless steel, so less need to filter, thus wine has more character. Also economically better regarding temperature, easier and cheaper as thick walls maintain cool better than stainless steel.
Sadie Family Vineyards, South Africa: concrete eggs for whites. Wood does not stem from natural terroir.
Concrete, costs
$10,000-30,000 USD from Sonoma Cast Stone
Clay, high end (2)
More favored by natural wineries.
Radikon, Friuli-Venezia Giulia: skin contact Chardonnay and Tokaj Friulano is $40 USD
Epoch Wines in Paso Robles, USA. Use of clay for Rhone whites, clay for Rhone reds.
Clay, costs
Qvevri: Data not available. According to Pheasants’ Tears Winery, there are only 5 good producers of Qvevri in Georgia. A highly specific style.
Clay, modern: Beckham, OR 340 L = $2600 USD
