Balancing Quality with Sustainability

October 25, 2024

One of my favorite things about winemaking is experimentation. I love hearing from other winemakers about some of their tips and tricks to extract the most out of each harvest to showcase the vintage. Some conversations center on the yeast or yeast derivatives. In others, it’s about equipment, presses and press programs. A common topic of conversation has to do with barrels (which was the last topic I wrote about in our blog).

But let’s talk about barrel alternatives. Yes, there’s stainless steel, concrete and many other substances (at Violet Vines, we even use sandstone amphorae (a fancy word for jars) to ferment and age our Albariño as an example).

But barrels are expensive and difficult to care for, and many consumers are demanding more sustainable winemaking practices without sacrificing quality.

Without sounding like a commercial, and no I’m not being paid to write this, a key business partner of ours (and friend), Bruce Felix, introduced the Elevage barrel system to me in 2022.

Imagine a square plastic tank. Doesn’t sound incredible innovative at face value, but it’s the hidden science that makes the concept stand out. The plastic is designed to mimic what takes place using barrels, meaning the micro-oxygenation transfer which aids by softening tannins, stabilizing color, and enhancing the wine’s complexity and mouthfeel over time.

But what about the oak flavor and other effects? In many cases, I like to use neutral barrels that minimize oak flavor transfer (from the oak itself or from the toasting) in order to showcase the fruit. Although I haven’t done this yet, the Elevage barrel system has recommended oak additive products for those looking for such flavors.

Back to experimentation… I used two of the Elevage barrels during the 2023 vintage and I chose our inaugural estate Chardonnay for the experiment (which is the 2023 Gracie-Fehr Estate Chardonnay). Why did I make this choice? I wanted to see what the fruit tasted like without significant oak influence but will some micro-oxygenation benefit. I didn’t add any oak products to the wine and let it go through malolactic fermentation.

I asked Bruce to share a little more on other successes he’s seen because I knew we couldn’t be the only ones producing great wines with the Elevage barrels.

“The Elevage sustainable barrel system has been growing steadily in the US over the past five years. Several other Willamette Valley wineries are now using it for Pinot noir, and some are also moving to making Chardonnay like Violet Vines. Washington has also been a growing market, as has California, for Bordeaux-style red wines. A combination of quality, consistency, sustainability and ease of use will continue to make this system a growing method for winemakers.

The key to this system is the separation of key components of wine aging – input of oxygen in a controlled way, and a precision dose of oak components such as tannins, consistent with the winemaker’s style. Elevage sustainable barrels allow the winemaker to dial the correct amount of each component in a consistent, year-on-year basis. That way, wineries like Violet Vines continue to provide their consumers with the best wine their fruit is poised to deliver, vintage after vintage.”

Simply put, it was a great choice – the vineyard did its thing and produced amazing fruit. Those visiting the tasting room in Carlton love it, as did the Oregon Wine Press when it chose the wine as a Cellar Select last month.

Again, I chose to write this blog to highlight what I feel is a sustainability – and quality – success story. The Elevage barrels are designed to be used for 25+ years each and do not have impacts on deforestation and certainly require less water for cleaning. Based on the success in 2023, I’m a fan and plan to use them again in 2024 and expand further in 2025.

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