For more than two decades Boisé has been offering a comprehensive range of premium quality French oak chips and staves for tank use. Today, Boisé introduces a new barrel insert which is designed to deliver new oak characteristics in neutral barrels. Boisé’s inserts offer wineries extended oak impact for their used barrels at a fraction of the cost of a new barrel. Boisé, partnered with G3 Enterprises, is offering this product first to the U.S. market where cost savings are crucial to wineries.”
“It’s up to 10 times cheaper than a premium quality barrel,” says Galina Seabrook, Oak Business Development Manager at G3 Enterprises, “extending the life of existing barrels and at the same time contributing precise, complex flavor profiles with all the compounds that a barrel can add to the wine.” These new Boisé oak inserts consist of a chain of 16 staves; each stave is 20 millimeters by 20 millimeters by 25 centimeters long (4/5 in. by 4/5 in. by 10 in.). The staves are connected together with food grade plastic ties and attached to the barrel bung with an eyehook screw for an easy insertion and removal in and out of the barrel.
Boisé’s barrel inserts are available in the same three flavor profiles as Boisé’s 20 millimeter French oak staves:
- #20.1iN Vanilla style insert strengthens fruit and concentration in the mouthfeel.
- #20.3iN Spicy oak insert intensifies the elegance of wine and its richness in the palate.
- #20.5iN Smoky and toasted notes with volume and structure.
“Based on the inside surface of a 225 L barrel and the surface of the inserts, we calculate that each of these inserts is approximately 30% of a new barrel contribution as oak extractables,” says Seabrook. “In case a winemaker wants to use more than one insert in the same barrel, then 2 or 3 chains can be linked together.
The Boisé inserts are convection toasted and consistent in delivering the exact flavor profiles that the winemaker expects from the product. “Boisé barrel inserts allow for flexibility on how long the wine will be aged with new oak in comparison to new barrels where once they are filled, the wine is stored for as long as 12 or 24 months. In addition, chains of different toast levels can be linked and added to the same barrel, and a used American oak barrel can easily be converted to one delivering premium French oak flavor profiles. With inserts the winemaker has full control.”
Like all Boisé products, the new inserts are 100% new French oak and rely on the latest production technology in manufacturing, including analytical sorting of raw material, precise heat processing, and the oak-wine interaction experience. All of this is backed by Vivelys’ own field support to ensure consistent performance, precision oak profiles and desired results on targeted wine profiles.
“At Vivelys we would like to give the winemaker the option to create their own profiles by combining them,” says Cecilia Cunningham, a California-based Vivelys consultant. “We have always had this ingredient approach where you can create infinite combinations, and every winemaker can create their own perfect combination for their wine, and we want to keep that even in the inserts, so you can have your own specific blend.”
The Boisé inserts are designed to help winemakers achieve their winemaking objectives more cost effectively, especially during the current economic crisis that is putting many wineries under pressure. Vivelys is also working on addressing the other major crisis, the climate crisis, by making their production even more sustainable.
“Since 2017 all our oak has come from PEFC certified sustainably managed forests, so we really know where our raw material is coming from, and we know that a tree taken from these forests is going to be replaced by another one,” says Cunningham.
Beginning September 1, 2020 the Vivelys’ factory installed 300 solar panels, achieved ISO 50001 certification for energy management, and is planning to decrease energy consumption by 10% by 2021.
“We are really proud to be the only producer worldwide able to toast all our staves and our inserts with solar energy, and we hope others follow our lead” says Cunningham. “We’re really committed to decreasing our carbon footprint as a factory, and we will continue to put in measures like this to change the way we produce and interact with our environment.”
Boisé inserts, staves, and oak chips are distributed by G3 Enterprises in the United States. Customer technical consultations by Vivelys specialists and G3 are available. For more technical information, please contact G3 Enterprises at G3.Info@G3enterprises.com or Cecilia Cunningham at cc@vivelys.com.
