Grape & Wine Magazine Sample

Engineering, University of Arizona

Mark S. Sisterson USDA-ARS, San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center

Florent Trouillas Associate Professor of Cooperative Extension, Department of Plant Pathology, UC Davis

Dr. Karl A. Wyant Director of Agronomy at Nutrien, Western Region Certified Crop Advisor Board Chair

Krishna Subbarao Plant Pathologist, UC ANR

BOURBON BARREL-AGED WINE GROWS IN POPULARITY

By STEVE PASTIS | Contributing Writer

Sales of wines aged in bourbon barrels have increased dramati cally in recent years. Originally a cost-saving practice for winemakers, the current popularity of these wines is a result of the way the used barrels enhance their taste and aroma.

“By using bourbon-aged barrels, we get entirely different components, smells, and flavors than we do with traditional wine barrels,” said Ellie Farrell, public relations manager for Treasury Wine Estates, an inter national wine company based in Australia with U.S. locations in Oak land and Napa. “Our American oak barrels introduce warm aromas and flavors of vanilla, caramel, roasted hazelnuts, butterscotch, and baking spice.”

Treasury Wine Estates has more than 40 wine brands, including Beringer Vineyards, one of the first companies to use bourbon barrels to age wine.

“One-hundred-and-fifty years ago, brothers Jacob and Frederick Bering er left Germany to establish a winery and distillery in Napa,” said Farrell. “Historically, wine producers used whatever was readily available to ferment and even store their wines, including various wood tanks like redwood or oak. To Jacob and Freder ick, reusing their spirit barrels to age wine just seemed like good financial sense, and they quickly discovered it added a whole new level of complex ity.”

Bourbon barrels also reduce the time necessary to age wine, according to Farrell. “After being fermented in stainless steel tanks, our wines are aged in second-pass-charred Ameri can oak bourbon barrels for 60 days,” she said.

She added that Beringer Vineyards makes wine using traditional wine making practices, including aging wine in spirits barrels. Even the company’s bourbon barrel aging process has remained fairly consis tent. “We’ve made a few tweaks here and there, but overall the process has stayed the same,” she said.

“Because the toasting for bourbon barrels is different and more ag gressive than for wine, we only age 20 percent of the wine in bourbon barrels,” said Farrell, adding that red blend, cabernet sauvignon, and char donnay are among the types of wine benefitting the most from bourbon barrel aging.

Beringer prefers used bourbon barrels to new, according to Farrell. “The average age of our used barrels is four years,” she said. “We’ve found by using used bourbon barrels, we get better integration of flavors as well as unique flavors, resulting in better quality wines.”

Even winemakers without a long history are finding success aging their wine in bourbon barrels.

Sales of wines aged in bourbon barrels have increased dramatically in recent years.

“We’re new to the business,” said Rob Hendriks, co-owner of Aloria Vineyards, based in Murphys, California, which started using bourbon barrels in 2020.

“We have four bourbon barrels and we put our port in them,” he said. “Basically, the wine we had was all finished, already aged. We put it into bourbon barrels to pick up the flavor.”

Hendriks described Aloria’s port wines as “all dry and not sweet,” and said that the bourbon barrel-aging process adds “some caramel overtones to it.”

“The response is usually pretty positive when people taste our fortified ports,” he said, proudly noting that the Aloria 2016 Forté Estate Bourbon Barrel Aged Syrah was one of the “seven bourbon barrel-aged wines to try,” according to Wine Enthu siast.

“It’s just a flavor category that people seem to like,” said Alison Crowe, partner and vice president of winemaking at Pla ta Wine Partners, the winemaking arm of Silverado Wine Growers. “It’s certainly been increasingly common in the last five-to-seven years.”

Plata Wine Partners makes three wines with the Big Six Bourbon Barrel label, a cabernet sauvignon, a red blend, and a zinfandel, which are sold through Total Wine & More.

Crowe described her company’s bourbon barrel wines as having “big bold ‘jammy’ flavors, fruity and sweet with very apparent fruity flavors like blackberry, raspberry, and cherry.

“Red blend and cabernet lend themselves to this style,” she added. “Everyone may have different opinions, but the con sensus is the best wine tones to pair with bourbon barrels is something smoky.”

She said that wines with crisp floral aromas, such as riesling, are not a good match for bourbon barrel aging. “It’s like cooking – you have to think about what spices go with what you are making,” she said, noting that wineries add ingredients to give their wines more complexities.

Crowe described the flavors suggested by bourbon barrel-aged wine as vanilla, clove, warm baking spices, cinnamon, toasted coffee, toffee, and caramel, but added, “Actually, it’s more complex than that.”

Only some wood is good for wine barrels, she said. “You can’t make barrels out of eucalyptus. They won’t hold together.”

Oak barrels are best – specifically, barrels made from French or American oak, according to Crowe. “Our French oak barrels are brought over by ship or airplane.

“I wouldn’t want a new bourbon barrel,” she said, explain ing that bourbon barrels are flame-charred using high heat, which burns the barrel and creates a flavor that can be very dominant. Traditionally, winemakers prefer to age wine in gently toasted barrels, slightly above light to medium charring.”

Because of the charring, she advises those using bour

Originally a cost-saving practice for winemakers, the current popularity of these wines is a result of the way the used barrels enhance their taste and aroma.

bon barrels to age wine to test it often. “Make sure you’re not overdoing it.”

Even with the required testing, Crowe believes that the process of using bourbon barrels to age wine is here to stay.

“It may seem kind of gimmicky, but there’s a long history of these vessels in our history,” she said. “What’s old is new again.”

“People don’t just want Budweiser and Coors, or Jack Daniels anymore,” said Marc Hillier, owner/president of Country Con nection, Inc., a company headquartered in Oroville, California, that supplies barrels to winemakers, brewers, and distillers. “They want something unique and interesting. If you can say your wine was finished with a French oak bourbon barrel in the Napa wine region, it makes a good story.”

Hiller started Country Connection in 2005 because, he “fell in love with the barrel – and the smell of wine and bourbon in the barrel.”

Country Connection went through some early challenges, but Hillier said his company had strong growth in 2009, again in 2013-14, and is experiencing “amazing growth now.” He said he

“learned everything through youth and hard work.”

While the demand from wineries for Country Connection’s bourbon barrels has increased, winemakers’ preferences have remained the same, at least most of the time.

“I’m not seeing a whole lot of change,” said Hillier, “but one winery asked if I ever have tequila barrels, and I have provided rum barrels.”

The main priority of wineries is that the bourbon barrels they receive are as similar as possible.

“People like consistency,” Hillier said. “If you’re going to develop a brand, your customers expect the same flavor. Wineries also prefer barrels that are unrinsed,” explaining that some distill ers wash their barrels and use the water to dilute the alcohol content in their whiskeys. While that may be a good business practice for distillers, it causes wineries to lose the bourbon flavors in the barrels.

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Lessons from Sustainable Vineyard Farmers

By BETH VUKMANIC | Executive Director, Vineyard Team

While “sustainable” is a common term in agriculture today, this was not the case in 1994, when a small group of vineyard growers got together on California’s Central Coast to talk about critical resource concerns like safe pest management, soil quality, and farmworker training.

Nearly 30 years later, that small group of growers has expanded to include hundreds more, representing over 80,000 vineyard acres. They are mem bers of the non-profit organization, Vineyard Team. The organization continues to uphold the original growers’ mission: bringing together ex perienced growers and researchers to educate the industry on sustainable winegrowing practices. Today, sustainability is accessible to growers across the globe through in-field meetings, digital resources, and third-party certification.

Founders Dana Merrill of Mesa Vineyard Management, Steve McIntyre of Monterey Pacific, and Don Ackerman of Constellation Brands reflect on three decades of sustainable research and education.

Evolution of Sustainability Concept

Consumers continue to prioritize their health and wellness as we enter the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic. But consumers’ health needs have evolved beyond the basics of physical well-being. With increasing concern for the future health of our families, communities, and the planet, many consumers are seeking brands and products that promise a better tomorrow. In a 2021 study conducted by Simon-Kucher & Partners, 85% of respondents indicated they have shifted towards purchasing sustainable products over the last five years.

One way the wine industry is meeting this demand is through certification. Programs like SIP Certified verify that the vineyard and winery are imple menting practices that protect the people and planet. The process requires that growers and winemakers adhere to specific practices and complete audits with third-party inspectors to verify compliance.

“Within the industry and the world, sustainability has become a guide for best practices,” says Don Ackerman. “Acceptance and participation have snowballed.” Dana Merrill concurs, “Today, sustainability is a standard operating procedure. Most buyers expect a sustainability certification.”

Sustainability Just a Buzz Word?

Consumers today are growing increasingly environmentally conscious. WWF commissioned global research by Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) in 2021 (An Eco Awakening) that found that searches for sustainable goods have increased globally by 71% since 2016.

Growers agree, certification is not just a marketing tactic. Don Ackerman says, “We can do well by doing good.” Many certification programs began as an educational self-assessment tool. Today, certification enables wine growers to better manage their practices. Regular peer reviews with univer sity Extension programs and professors, and industry experts ensure that the latest research and technology are incorporated into the SIP Certified program so participants implement new sustainable practices as they go through the certification process. Steve McIntyre reinforces that the goal of sustainability is to regularly improve at a farm level, “It is a competi

tion with yourself.” Wine consumer demand for sustainable products increases annually, and winegrowers should com municate their good work through certification in order to be visible to consumers who are looking for sustainable wines. Incorporating science based, best practices is good for the environment and communities, and meets consumer demand.

Major Issues in Vineyard Sustainability Today

From integrated pest management (IPM) to irrigation efficien cy to labor supply, farmers need to balance numerous issues that impact sustainability in order to bring a marketable prod uct to consumers. At its core, sustainability is a holistic ap proach to the business of winegrowing. A single practice can have an impact on more than just one specific area of produc tion. A generous employee benefits program will create labor stability for the vineyard and job stability for the employee. Decreasing irrigation reduces both water and electricity use.

When asked what they see as major issues in sustainability to day, the founders mentioned the health and safety of workers, regenerative agriculture, technology, and pest management. The resounding theme in all of their responses was thinking about the cumulative impacts of a decision.

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Sustainability encourages growers to consider multiple man agement options. Pest management is a great example of an area where the vineyard manager uses all of the tools in the tool box. IPM strategies begin with cultural practices, like leafing to reduce mildew pressure. These kinds of practices in turn reduce the load of pesticides applied to the vineyard, which improves health and safety conditions for workers, and often lowers costs to the vineyard.

“Farmers are continually looking for ways to do more with less,” says Steve McIntyre. His company addresses weed control by using multipurpose equipment. This practice decreases tractor passes, thus burning less fuel and reducing pollution.

Dana Merrill explains that good soil quality creates healthier plants so there is less need for chemical pest management. “Sustainability means farming the same ground hopefully forever because you have created a healthy system.”

Sustainability and the Ag/Urban Interface

In 2020, direct on-farm employment accounted for 2.6 mil lion of the 19.7 million jobs related to the agricultural and food sectors -- just 1.4 percent of total United States employ ment. Building relationships between agriculture and resi dential neighbors is very important because few people have

direct experience with agriculture. Safe farming practices like night sprays that prevent drift and protect workers from heat stress can be misunderstood. When farmers proactively get to know their neighbors, they open the lines of com munication. This builds trust that can mitigate conflict and misunderstandings.

Dana Merrill explains that, “The more people understand sustainability, the better they feel about being a neighbor to a working farm.” The requirements of being certified sus tainable help to create good neighbors because sustainability necessitates consideration for the health and well-being of all members of the community. Don Ackerman believes that being considerate to neighbors is part of the ethos of sustain ability. “Sound farming practices protect the environment for neighbors and the community.” Ultimately, sustainability helps farmers tell their story of stewardship.

The Future of Sustainability

In viticulture, sustainability is a grassroots movement. In three decades of promoting sustainable winegrowing, count less growers have told Vineyard Team that they continue their education, trial new practices, push the bar, and get certified because “It’s the right thing to do.” Thirty years later, all three Vineyard Team founding members still see sustainability as the future because it is a doctrine that keeps evolving and improving so that winegrowers can have a posi tive impact on more acres, neighborhoods, and communities for years to come.

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Better Nutrition Grows Firmer Fruit

Fruit growers are producing firmer, higher quality table grapes, wine grapes and strawberries with Pacific Gro. Firmer fruit has longer shelf life, earns a premium price, and it tastes better.

We’re seeing this in both organic and conventional production table grapes in Delano, strawberries in Santa Maria, apples and cherries in central Washington, berries in Oregon and vegetable crops too.

Calcium plays a key role in moving other nutrients into the fruit. It provides structural support to cell walls of plants and root development.

There are many sources of calcium, and big growers have tried them all. However, growers see an additional benefit with Pacific Gro, providing plants readily available calcium and many other essential nutrients that help crops thrive.

Pacific Gro should be viewed as a core input and key contributor to any crop program. It helps microbes get established, especially the all important fungal components. Fish oil and chitin provide the necessary building blocks for microbes to multiply, mineralize nutrients, and create healthier soils Amino acids immediately convert into plant available nitrogen and promote calcium absorption. Natural fulvic acids help chelate nutrients and strengthen crop drought and heat tolerance. Pacific Gro’s complex biological structure is delivering exceptional crop results to growers.

Please note that Pacific Gro can be applied through drip lines as well as pivot sprinklers on row crops.

Table grapes grown near Delano, California