Foods and beverages: apparatus – Beverage – Post-primary-alcoholic fermentation operations
Patent
1994-07-06
1996-07-23
Jenkins, Robert W.
Foods and beverages: apparatus
Beverage
Post-primary-alcoholic fermentation operations
426 11, B65D 804
Patent
active
055379133
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
This invention relates to improvements in containers for the wood fermentation and/or maturation of wines and liquors.
In the making of many types of wine and liquor, it is usual, after completion of the vinification or distillation process, for a product to be matured in wooden containers. Most commonly, the wood used in the making of maturation containers is oak, either American white oak, oak sourced from particular forests in France, or oak from other parts of Europe. In the maturation of Scotch whisky, for example, barrels which have previously been used for the maturation of American Whisky or sherry are commonly used. Depending upon the type of product to be matured and the intended period of maturation, barrels of various sizes may be employed so that a given quantity of product may be exposed to a greater or lesser surface area of oak. Smaller barrels provide a greater surface area per unit volume of contents and are generally used where quicker maturation is required. The converse generally applies in the case of longer maturation periods.
The process of maturation is a complex one which is still poorly understood. Although various compounds may be leached from the wood, giving colour and flavour to the product, there is also a process of transpiration through the wood during which some part of the product, usually more volatile components, may be lost. It is thought that oxygen from the air, which is admitted in small but steady quantities as evaporation of the product occurs, may also play a pan in the maturation process.
Almost universally, oak containers for the maturation of quality wines and liquors are barrels made by cooperage methods developed many centuries ago. In the best accepted practice, oak logs are cut to the correct length for staves and convened by radial splitting so that the growth rings of the wood are more or less normal to the width and length of the piece of wood so produced. Where logs are convened mechanically, careful quarter sawing is necessary to achieve the same orientation of growth ring. The convened logs are then air seasoned for a minimum of two years. Attempts to accelerate the seasoning process through the use of kiln drying invariably result in a barrel of inferior quality which may spoil a product matured in it through leaching out of components of the tree sap trapped in the wood during the rapid drying process. Barrel staves must have the growth ring orientation referred to so that medullary rays (impervious layers in the wood), extend from edge to edge, ensuring that they are impervious to liquids, and that they do not warp which might result in barrel leakage.
After seasoning of the convened logs, the split or sawn pieces are cut to length, dressed to a suitable thickness and shaped. They are then convened by hand into barrels of desired size by skilled coopers. The process stages in producing a quality liquid tight barrel are lengthy, time consuming and because they can only be produced by skilled specialist coopers, are becoming increasingly more costly. Moreover, supplies of premium oak logs from the principal forests in France and other locations in Europe are limited and, as demand continues to grow, prices for the necessary oak continue to increase. The long wood seasoning process, which necessitates a cooperage keeping one to two years' consumption of converted wood, also adds to costs. The splitting of logs to convert them to barrel staves is also an inefficient and wasteful method of conversion. The making of staves and barrel heads and the process of assembling barrels is largely performed by hand and, as coopers are few and their craft a highly skilled one, labour thus constitutes a substantial part of the final cost of a barrel.
The operational life of a barrel varies considerably and depends greatly upon the product to be matured in it. In the maturation of some wines, barrel life may be as low as a single vintage, but normally three to four years with normal use. This may be extended for a year or so by scraping the inner surface of the sta
REFERENCES:
patent: 818478 (1906-04-01), Shwayder
patent: 2017235 (1935-10-01), Drew
patent: 2108661 (1938-02-01), Farrier
patent: 2203229 (1940-06-01), Nilsson
Intellection Pty. Ltd.
Jenkins Robert W.
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