There has been a recent trend towards "naked" or "un-oaked" wines made in stainless steel wine barrels, but there still remains a high demand for wines that are made in oak barrels. We continue, however, to see more and more wine makers using our stainless steel wine barrels with oak alternatives. From helping winemakers at smaller wineries compete at lower price points to broadening their oak "spice racks," winemakers are using oak alternatives in as many different ways as there are alternative products. While many winemakers still use oak barrels, they do report the quality, consistency, flavor and aroma profiles of oak alternatives have improved, and some say they can depend on oak alternatives almost like barrels. The use of spiral oak inserts help add not only oak seasoning with aromas of vanilla and toast and other attributes but also help with the tannin structure and mouth-feel. About 20 years ago, the introduction of micro-oxygenation and competition to make better—yet still affordable—wines drove winemakers to use some of the earliest oak alternatives. Back then it was the odds and ends from coopers, folks just tossed them in the tank to bump up the oak notes on finished wines. Soon, though, suppliers saw the potential and invested in improving the alternative products. Wine makers still want to see barrels, but there’s so much success in this alternative to oak; it’s much more precise than it used to be. With the wine mainly staying in tanks there’s less risk of contamination from barrels or during racking or filling. It’s also easier to modulate oak flavors by adding more alternatives or moving the wine off the oak. When winemakers have to deal with several green lots because of cooler vintages, oak alternatives used early in primary and secondary fermentation can really help tone down green aromatic and green olive flavors. The same goes for pronounced pyrazine flavors, with a little bit of micro-oxygenation and oak chips in the tank can help deal with them. The quality of oak alternatives has now been matched in consistency. Winemakers can now craft a wine profile and have a hit every time, which is important to many clients who may start with one batch but require almost exponential growth if the wine is popular with consumers. Some would wager that most consumers wouldn’t be able to perceive taste differences between wines matured in barrels versus wines aged with oak alternatives. And one wouldn’t be surprised if critics or those in the trade would be able to get it half right when presented with a flight of barrel and stave-aged wines. With the quality there, winemakers are increasingly open about their use of staves because they believe in the quality, and they are looking to expand their winemaking style and offer affordable wines. While for some winemakers a new oak barrel is still preferred, there are many cases now where stainless steel wine barrels, like those manufactured by Skolnik, used in conjunction with these oak alternatives, give the wine maker more tools to play with rather than none at all.
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