Winemaker's Archives -- George Troquato

Wine Barrels and Puncheons

Modern wine barrels are made of oak staves shaped into bulging cylinders that are bound by steel hoops and capped with flat circular heads at both ends. The belly, or bilge, allows them to be rolled and turned, and when stored horizontally, facilitates racking (the transfer of clear wine to another barrel).

Longtime producers of the definitive wine barrel, French coopers (barrel makers) are now competing with their American and Hungarian counterparts in the global wine barrel market.

Coopers typically make barrels from white oak timber indigenous to their homeland. Whatever the source, most barrels are fashioned in two principal configurations: the 59-gallon French Bordeaux and the 60-gallon French Burgundy. The latter is nearly three inches shorter and over one inch broader at the bilge. Puncheons, large barrels from 79 to 185 gallons, offer a lower wood surface-to-wine ratio and thus impart less oak and vanilla characteristics.

Stave Yard

Air drying in a stave yard is the preferred method of seasoning wood in preparation of barrel production (as opposed to kiln drying). Seasoning leaches out harsh components through the action of air, rain, sun and microbes. The timber is hand split (French oak) or machine sawn (American oak, by nature of its grain) and typically aged for two years. Then, they are assembled and traditionally toasted over oak fires to the desired level. Coopers offer a variety of toast levels to accommodate winemaker preferences and styles.

Winemaker
George Troquato

Cinnabar's George Troquato prefers tight-grained American oak that is seasoned for 36 months and French oak from the Allier Forest that is seasoned for 24 months. He uses a combination of French and American oak Bordeaux barrels for Cabernet Sauvignon (50% new), American oak Bordeaux barrels for Merlot (30% new), and French oak Burgundy barrels for Pinot Noir and Chardonnay (20-40% new).