Cooperage Management

- The ‘‘barrel industry’’ -

Dominique de Beauregard
beauregard.oenologue@free.fr

2021
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 Cooperage Management
The barrel Industry
Imagine…
You are wine estate manager…
Do you age the wines in barrels?
Do you soak ‘‘oenological wood’’ in the wine?
Or neither of the two?
Based on what criteria do you make your choice?

1st. Lecture: Barrel and “oak adjuncts”.

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Barrels?Oenological wood? Neither of the two?
Criteria to make the choice?
• Desired taste of the wine, woody or not,
• Is the goal to flavor or age the wine?
• Selling price of the wine,
• Financial possibilities,
• Technical capabilities (barrel cellar?)
• Image of the brand,
• Ecological vision,
• Regulation,
• ...
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Lesson plan: « barrels and ‘‘oak adjuncts’’ »
1. The products
2. Usage cost
3. Wine ageing in barrels and aromatization with AOP
4. Description of the aromas provided by oak wood
5. Barrel manufacturing process
6. ‘‘Oenological wood’’ manufacturing process

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 1. The « Barrels »

• Known to the Gauls more than two thousand

years ago
• ‘‘Etude de trois grands tonneaux mis au jour
à Reims/Durocortorum: le savoir-faire des
tonneliers antiques. Pierre Mille et Philippe
Rollet’’
• Same form and same principle of
manufacture
• Oak boards simply juxtaposed, glue-free,
circled, forming a receptacle Waterproof
• Initially to transport seeds, solids, not liquid
• Never designed to age wine or spirits
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1. The “barrels”
• VATS, BARRELS AND TUNS
• “muids” (old word)
• From 100 liters to 30 000
• Transportation barrels stopped in the
80th
• Today, for ageing and fermentation
• Out of oak wood, but also, acacia
wood, chestnut wood, sometimes
fruit trees

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1. Oak adjuncts
Current denomination
• AOP: Alternative Oak Product
• « oak alternatives (to barrel) » « barrel alternatives »
• « oak inserts » « oak products »
• « enological wood »

• It is oak ready to soak into

• wine or alcohol
• or reduction water / alcoholic beverages
• French, European, American oak

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1. The AOP products
(Alternative Oak Products)
AOP or ‘‘oenological wood’’
Into tanks
• Powder
• Granulars
• Chips
• Stavettes
• Staves
• Liquid oak extracts
•…

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AOP Oak inserts for old barrels

Into barrels
• Staves to fix inside
• “Oak on a rope” through the bunghole
•…

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 The AOP products
Usual Dimension Usage in wine Maximum
denomination length of
infusion
Powder < 2 mm Not for OIV members Immediate

Granular > 2 mm Tank. Fermentation 6 days

Chips > 8 mm Tank. Fermentation or ageing 4 weeks to 2

months
Staves Usually 1 meter long Tank. Fermentation and ageing 6 months

Barrels inserts Through the bunghole or Barrel. Ageing 6 months

screwed on the head in
disassembling the barrel.
Liquid oak Liquid Forbidden for OIV members Immediate
extracts Authorized in others and in some
alcohols

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2. Cost price to the user
• Barrel : New € 700, 225 liters, 4 years, = 0,77 €/l
• Staves : 5 €/stave, 2 staves/hl, one usage = 0,10 €/l
• Chips : 5,5 €/kg, 2 g/l, one usage = 0,01 €/l

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AOP: Oak adjuncts
1. “Cheaper” than the barrel
1 cent to 10 cents / liter
against 1 to 2 € / liter for the barrel

2. “Faster” 15 days to 6 months in contact

3. “Dosage” the usage dose can be tested and adapted

before larger usage

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3. Barrel ageing and aromatization
Why is-it so important?
“Oak & Wine”
• No “Grand Cru” without barrels
• Barrels + AOP = Increasing market
• Oak has a positive effect on the
wine tasting, even in little
quantities

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3. Barrel ageing and aromatization
• The barrel is comparable to a reactor
in which physical phenomena occur:
evaporation of water, alcohol,
dissolution of wood compounds,
precipitation, etc.
• They generate reactions in the wine:
enrichment, clarification, complexity
of the tastes and aromas.
• “In-situ monitoring of wine volume, barrel mass, ullage
pressure and dissolved oxygen for a better understanding of
wine-barrel-cellar interactions Claire Roussey’’
• Gas and wine transfers
• / ambient conditions
• / evaporation rates
• / ullage space pressure
• / dissolved oxygen
• / negative pressure inside the barrels
• /…
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3. What is a barrel for?
1. Contains the liquid, be waterproof: storage
and shipping
2. Enriches the liquid with aromas and tannins
3. Allows controlled oxidation
4. Allows evaporation
5. Favors sedimentation and clarification
6. Favors aging on lees
7. Giving the image of Grand Cru - Tradition:
the time factor
8. Does not transfer chemical or
microbiological contaminants
3. What is ‘‘AOP’’ or ‘‘oenological wood’’ for?
1. Brings aromas
2. Enriches with aromas, tannins, sweetness, tension
3. Ensures the inputs with precision
4. Acts quickly or within a specific time
5. Allows a pre-test
6. Does not transfer chemical or microbiological
contaminants
4. Description of the aromas provided by oak
wood
• Aromas /a molecule,
• Aromas / combination of
several molecules,
• Masking phenomena,
• Olfactory images,
• Pictorial descriptions,
• Images depending on the
person, …

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molecule & perceived aromas
Furanone Caramel
Gaïacol Smoke, ink
Whisky-lactone Coco, celery, mushroom
Maltol Caramel
Eugénol Clove
Dimetoxyphénol Smoke, tar, pharmacy
Furfural Grilled, grilled almond
Vanilline Vanillia, cake

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 Seuil de
Famille/origin
Composé Descripteur perception
e
dans le vin

cis-
790 μg/l
whiskylactone
Lactone noix de coco
trans-
67 μg/l
whiskylactone

vanilline vanille 995 μg/l

méthyl-
vanille 3000 μg/l
Aldéhydes- vanillate
phénols éthyl-vanillate vanille 990 μg/l
syringaldéhyd
planche 50000 μg/l
e
acétovanillone vanille 1000 μg/l
Phényls- propiovanillon
boisé -
cétones e
syringol épices 1800 μg/l
eugénol clou de girofle 6 μg/l
gaïacol fumé, brûlé 10 μg/l
4-méthyl-
fumée, suie -
gaïacol
4-éthyl-
poivre, épice 100 μg/l
gaïacol
Phénols 4-vinyl-gaïacol oeillet, girofle 1100 μg/l
4-éthyl-phénol cuir, écurie 500 μg/l
herbes
4-vinyl-phénol 180 μg/l
froissées
encre,
phénols -
phénolées
pharmaceutiq
crésol 31-58 μg/l
ues
amande
grillées
furfural 3000 μg/l
amande
Composés de amère
chauffe méthyl-5-
furfural
cyclotène pain grillé 3100 μg/l
maltol fumée 11400 μg/l
FA à partir
furfurylthiol café 1 ng/l
du furfural
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Whisky Lactone
➢ Perception threshold / Red wines
➢ Cis Whisky-lactone 320 µg/L
➢ Trans Whisky-lactone 74 µg/L
➢ In raw and fresh oak
➢ « Oaky »: coco, vanillia, mushroom, celery
➢ 5 to 150 µg/g of oak depending on toasting level
➢ High toast destroy it
➢ Richest in Quercus Alba
➢ Rich in Quercus Petrae

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 Vanilline : Phenol Aldehyde
Derived product of lignin
➢ Descriptors: vanillia, pastry, cake,
➢ 6 – 11 µg/g in raw oak
➢ Perception threshold
➢ In red wine 320 µg/L
➢ In white wine 65 µg/L
➢ Released during toasting
➢ 60 µg/g to 300 µg/g of oak

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Eugenol
Derived product of lignin

➢ Clove, oak, carnation flower

➢ 1,5 – 8 µg/g in raw oak
➢ More in Quercus Petrae than Robur
➢ In toasted oak: from 0 up to 10 µg/g of oak
➢ Perception threshold
➢ 100 to 500 µg/l in wine
➢ Usually bellow this perception threshold

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Gaïacol
Derived product of lignin

➢ Smoke, ink
➢ High toast, with a lid, unventilated furnaces
➢ Perception threshold 3 µg/l in water
➢ Can be in wine at 30 µg/l

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Produced during toasting : Furfural,
5HMF
Cellulose and hemicellulose
degradation
Furfural
Almond and roasted almond
➢Perception threshold 3 to 5 mg/L in water
➢300 µg/g in oak
➢Not in low temperature toast
➢Mask or aroma?

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Produced during toasting
Polyosides degradation: cellulose & hemicellulose

• Maltol, caramel
• Perception threshold 35 mg/l in water
• Very low quantity in wine about 10 µg/l
• Cyclotène, toasted bread.
• Perception threshold 3,0 mg/l

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Extractibles : oak tannins
➢ Bitterness and astringency, body
➢ Antioxydants
➢ Quercus Robur
➢ Diseapear during toasting / temperature

Ellagitanins Concentration (mg/g)

Castalagine 8,5 à 13

Vescalagine 6,4 à 10,6

Monomères
Roburine E 4,4 à 9,2

Grandinine 5,4 à 6,2

Roburine A 1 à 1,4

Roburine B 0,4 à 0,5

Dimères
Roburine C 1,6 à 2

Roburine D 0,4 à 1,2

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Scheme to image the link between toasting
level and perceived aromas
Légère Medium Medium+ Forte
Famille

COCO

Girofle (épicé)

FUMEE

CARAMEL

VANILLE

AMANDE
GRILLEE

GOUDRON

TANINS

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5.Barrel manufacturing process
• Forest
• Select the trees, logs. Cut down
• Split Mill
• Saw the logs in 1 meter long pieces
• Split
• Eliminate bark, sapwood, saw
• Seasonning on the yard
• Cooperage
• Shorten, planning, jointing the staves
• Araising
• Bending,
• Toasting
• Prepare the heads, insert the heads
• Leaking test
• Sanding, finitions, marking, packaging, …
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French forest
Type of « farming »

OWNER Oak forest Futaie Taillis-sous-

surface ‘‘high stand futaie
ha forest’’ ‘‘coppice-with-
standard
forest’’

Domain 0,65 million 240 000 ha 260 000 ha

Communale 1,2 million 90 000 ha 1 110 000 ha

Private forest 2,9 million 10 000 ha 2 890 000 ha

Total 4,75 million 340 000 ha 4 260 000 ha

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 Oak origin
• French oak and European oak:
• two species, often mixed in the forests
• Sessile oak: rich in aromas and poor in tannins
• Pedunculate oak: tannic and poor in aromas
• American oak
• Rich in coconut aromas

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The oak species
affects the quality
• Sessile oak
• Slow growth
• Low in tannins, rich in
whiskylactone
• Pedunculate oak
• Rapid growth
• Rich in tannins, poor in flavor
compounds
• Importance of the French
region

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 BARRELS & AOP VALUE CHAIN

ACTORS STEPS ACTORS

Private, state "Forest"

Auction sales

Foresters Trees

Wood seller Sawmill

The value Split mill Logs

chain Split mill

Cooperage or
Raw staves By product

Dry staves Dry oak pieces AOP Factory

split mill

Cooperage Barrels Chips, Staves, … AOP Factory

AOP marketing Distributor

Winery Barrels cellar AOP usage Winery

 Oak supply

Description of the supply chain

• Forest owners: can be private, government, local administration…
• Selection of the trees in the forest: this is crucial for the quality and the
yield. 1st. Quality factor
• Loggers: they saw the tree, prepare the log
• The branches give wood for sawn timber and parquet, firewood
• Transporters: after thaw in order not to destroy the forest roads
• Merranderie = split mill
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The cooperage process.
The forest – the merranderie =
splitmill

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The “grain” size effect = growth ring size
• “Fine grain”,
thickness 22mm to
41mm mainly for
barrels for the
ageing of great
wines

• “Medium and
large grain”,
thickness 27mm to
41mm mainly for
the spirits,
cognac…

Extrait du livre Bois & Vins de Dubrion

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The tree trunk is sawn into fractions
Decide the length to saw he trunk
• The length of each piece of log – + or - 1 meter –
is depending on the size of the future barrel
• IE: Burgundy barrels shorter than Bordeaux
barrels

• Difficulty: previsions three years in advance

• How many “chateau barrel, transport barrel,
Cognac barrel, 300, 400, Burgundy barrel, … shall
we sell in three years time?
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The split-mill (merranderie)
• Every log has a tracing number
• The traceability of logs is indicated on an accompanying document
• French oak is split (not sawn) in order to follow the oak fiber and be
tight.
• On the opposite, US oak can be sawn into plank

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Splitting oak logs into quarters
• Quality factor: french
oak must be split
(thyllose)
• Waterproof guarantee
• In a “merranderie”
(split-mill) the logs of
oak are split
• In order to obtain staves
in the wire of the wood.
• Flow calculator and
laser assistance

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Fente sur quartier des douelles
Split a ‘‘quarter’’ of the log into staves

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After splitting sawing

• Eliminate the heart, sapwood, bark

• Eliminate the defects
• Shape the future merrain = raw stave before drying
• Big waste of oak: ¾ or 4/5 of raw oak logs are byproducts

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Key quality factor: Oak seasonning
• Washing, oxydation, Enzyme reactions,
dehydration
• Tradition + experience
• [18 to 36 mois] in average
• Disappearance of wood flavors as
• ‘‘green’’, humus, acetic
• Coumarines (bitter
• Increased cis-whiskey-lactone
• Release of vanillin

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Oak seasoning: drying of the raw stave / maturation
• Cost is big: major asset
• For example, 10 000 barrels sold / year
• Made with 1 000 m3 of merrain x € 4 000 (French oak)
• = 4 million € x 2 years = 8 million € in asset
• Plus a buffer stock for
• Outstanding, unfinished
• unsold
• inadequate or inappropriate parts such as staves that are too
short
• Questions
• For research: how to shorten this two years quarantine?
• Do we buy raw staves or staves ready for use?
• Control of the seasoning yard = leading factor for some
cooperages
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Shorten, sanding & planning, jointing, the staves
When raw staves enter in the
cooperage to make barrels
• Shorten: tapering
• Sanded and planned
• Hollowing & backing: shape of the
barrel
• With CNC machines with programs

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Assembling the staves and raising the barrel

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Bending the barrel
• Heat, water and a wire or a diaphragm
• About 20 minutes

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Toasting
• The aim is to produce aromas from oak
• Different toasting levels
• Light toast
• Medium toast
• Medium +
• High toast
• …
• Temperature and length control
• Can last between 20 to 60 minutes
• Major quality factor. Need to be steady and under control
• Signature of the cooperage

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Crozing & drilling the bunghole

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 Assembly of heads and barrels
• Heads “bouvetés”

• OR assembled with pegs and straw reed

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 Assembly of heads and barrels
• The sealing between head and shell is made with wheat flour

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 Leaking test
• Water, pressure, time

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 Marking and engraving of barrels
• An identification code on each barrel
• With a possible tracing of
• Volume,
• Production date,
• Link with the wood lot,
• Toasting curves,
• Client …

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Barrel - Influential parameters
The Oak The cooperage
processes
❖Geographical origin/botanical
specie ❖Wood seasoning

❖Grain (growth ring) size ❖Toasting

❖Oak spliting & selection ❖Leaking test

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6. Oak adjuncts: AOP production process
Current denomination
• AOP: Alternative Oak Product
• « oak alternatives (to barrel) » « barrel alternatives »
• « oak inserts » « oak products »
• « enological wood »

• It is oak ready to soak into

• wine or alcohol
• or reduction water / alcoholic beverages
• French, European, American oak

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 AOP: Oak adjuncts
• Why?
• To give an oaky taste (equivalent to barrel)
• To strengthen the taste without perceiving the oak
• Where?
• In stainless steel or cement tanks
• In used barrels

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5.AOP manufacturing process
• Forest
• Select the trees, logs. Cut down
• Split Mill
• Saw the logs in 1 meter long pieces
• Split
• Eliminate bark, sapwood, saw
• By-products of the plit-mill are kept
• Seasonning on the yard
• Staves are sawn
• Chips and granular are grinded
• Toasting process in oven

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AOP manufacturing process

Chips & Granulars

• By-products of the split-mill (4/5 of the volume of oak)
• Seasonning on a yard
• Grinding, sieving
• Toasting as coffee
• Packing

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AOP manufacturing process
Staves
• Pieces of oak sawn from the big branches
• Sesonning on a yard
• Toasting as bread
• Packing

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Cooperage Management
The barrel Industry
Barrels
• Key quality factors: Oak origin, grain size, seasoning process, toasting
• Factories: sourcing control, split mill, cooperage
AOP
• Barrels “by-products”
• Toasting

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