Selecting barrels on the hoof - A. Rafanelli Vineyard and Winery buys French oak barrels from Tonnellerie-Francaise

Even though Dave Rafanelli, owner/winemaker, A. Rafanelli Winery, in Sonoma county s Dry Creek Valley Appellation, experiments with four or five new American barrels in his cellar every year, he has not convinced himself that his wines are as good when aged in American oak. So, he continues to look to Jean-Jacques Nadalie, Tonnellerie-Francaise in Calistoga, as a source for his French oak barrels. Last May, Jean-Jacques' company celebrated its fifteenth anniversary of making barrels in the United States. They rented the glamorous river-boat sternwheeler, the Petaluma Queen, for a full-day's excursion, from breakfast to midnight, and invited their friends and customers to join them.

The plan, in addition to honoring fifteen years of producing excellent wine barrels by centuries-old French coopering methods, was to provide a lot of fun and some incidental educational experiences. There were seminars and distinguished speakers. Forest experts and professors from leading agriculture universities participated. "I thought I knew a little something about oak and barrels," confesses Dave, "but I learned an incredible amount more."

At about 4:30 Jean-Jacques and his staff asked their guests to assemble in the salon. "There were about 20 local winemakers present," recalls Dave, "and Jean-Jacques asked us how many had ever been involved in a French wood auction." Unlike U.S. auctions, which start at a low bid and go up, French auctions start at the highest bid and go down. When the bids reach a point which the auctioneers consider the absolute lowest they are willing to go, the bidding is halted. What was being auctioned that afternoon on the Petaluma Queen were trees. Jean-Jacques explained that his company had bought a number of trees at auction in some of the finest oak growing regions of France. He flashed pictures of tall, straight oaks onto the screen and announced what the yield in barrel should be from each particular tree. The auction, though calculated to give the winemakers a lot of fun, also was authentic. Each tree in the auction was numbered and there were official papers prepared for the sale.

"I stood back for a while," remarks Dave, "and let some of the people from larger wineries, like George Bursick of Ferrari-Carano and Ed Killlan of Souverain, do the early bidding. Then I took out my calculator and figured some costs. My thinking was that we already buy finished barrels from Tonnellerie Francaise so what difference did it make if I bought barrels still in tree form, if the price was comparable?" Dave listened to the bidding and after the first couple of trees were sold, he thought he could see about where the bids were stopping, so, he decided he was going to buy one. "My estimate must have been pretty accurate," he comments, "because after my bid, they cut off the bidding." Dave's tree was one of about 20 sold that afternoon.

"Just as I was signing the papers for the tree, my wife Patty walked in and asked me what I was doing. When I told her I had bought a tree, she looked at me as if I were a little crazy, particularly when I added that we wouldn't get the barrels from that tree until the year 2000, because T-F air-dries the staves for 30 months.

Even though Dave had been buying barrels from Jean-Jacques for some years, he had never been in the forests where the trees were grown. "Heck, we'd never even been to France," he says, "so when T-F invited us to visit the forest and watch the tree being felled, we talked it over and decided to go." The Rafanellis planned the visit to coincide with SitiVinitech in Bordeaux, in December. Jean-Jacques and his associates arranged everything. "We flew over early and spent a couple of days in Paris, then they told us which train to catch and we traveled on the super-speed train from Paris to Chalon where the Vaslin press people have a factory, and we looked at some new equipment."

After a day or two playing tourist, looking at the countryside and visiting castles, Dave and Patty went on to SitiVinitech. "We weren't prepared for the size of the show," he admits, "and the endless range of equipment. We poured our wine, and there was a lot of interest in the Zinfandel, then on the Sunday following the show we left for the forest, which lies in a protected area in the Allier region, in the center of France. We drove through Limousin and arrived at the Troncais forest, which is the oldest managed forest in France. It was established by King Louis XIV to provide tall straight masts for his ships."

Each forest in the region has a government ranger in charge; the Director, Office National des Forets. His job is to approve the felling of each tree in that forest. The Director responsible for Dave's tree was Jean-Philippe Atger. As the trees reach the proper age and height, the Director marks the trees, then barrel makers are invited to come in to look them over and participate in an auction, similar to the one held on the Petaluma Queen. The main difference between the auction in the forest and that held aboard the boat is that in the forest the barrel makers are not just bidding against each other, but are in competition with furniture makers for the wood.

There is no re-forestation as is practiced in California. Instead, the ranger leaves what are called "Mother" trees. The acorns fall from the tree and grow naturally. All other varieties of trees are pulled out, leaving only the young oaks, and the cycle starts again.

The average age of the trees used to make barrels is 200-years. The smallest would be at least 175-years old, the oldest between 225 and 240. The largest tree would produce about nine barrels; the smaller trees, about four. Dave's tree, Number 09, was growing in a portion of the forest that was 250 years old. The trees look like rough-barked Eucalyptus - very tall and straight. This erect growth is achieved by allowing young saplings to grow and crowd each other, fighting for sunlight. Each year a few trees are cut down to give the others more light and space. The elongated trunks are all straight-grain, with no knots.

Dave's "09" was estimated to produce 5 1/2 barrels. "I figured that at my bid price of $3500 I wasn't going to spend any more than I would just buying the finished barrels in Calistoga, and the payments would be spread over three installments, between now and the delivery date. I may even have saved a little money, since the dollar has strengthened against the franc and the cost of each barrel was more like $570 than the $6301 had estimated paying."

Because Dave and Patty were visiting the forest on Sunday, when none of the officials like to work, it took some special effort to arrange for all the necessary people to be there: the government ranger, forest manager, tree selector, etc. It is, however, necessary for them all to be present, or the tree cannot be cut down. Dave felt a special kinship, since everyone involved was the third or fourth generation of his family to hold the position, just as Dave has followed in the footsteps of his ancestors. The tree selector, Jean Michelic, known as the "Papa of the Forest," had worked for Jean-Jacques' father, and Jean's son, Francois, already was working in his father's profession.

In felling the tree, it was first notched around its base, then a remote-controlled tractor was positioned to exert an even force so the tree would fall exactly where the forester wanted it. After it was felled, it was cut into 40[inches] barrel-size lengths. The heart of the tree is not used. As a matter of fact, 70% of all these trees is waste. The lengths of tree trunks are then hand split. The grain is so straight that the woodsman only has to give the wedge a tap and the wood splits almost perfectly into the desired 2[inches] thickness. After the staves are cut, they are stacked in the forest where they are not in direct sunlight, but will stay warm and shaded for almost three years.

Jean-Philippe, the forester, explained that one man has total responsibility for each forest. It is his job to see that only the proper number of trees are culled, so that the remaining trees do not experience growth spurts which cause wide grains and detract from the worth of the wood.

Dave and Patty spent two days in the forest, which was located near the small town of Cerilly. "Cerilly is about the size of Geyserville, with 300-400 residents," Dave remembers. "It was all lot like Geyserville, as a matter of fact, with a restaurant like Catelli's. (Catelli's The Rex - Outstanding - Ed.)

Before returning home the couple visited Marsannay in Burgundy where Jean-Jacques has just started making barrels in the Burgundian style. Dave found the Burgundy region more like his own Dry Creek Valley, with red and rocky soil. While there, he watched women pruning the vines and burning the brush right in the aisles in a portable incinerator. He was so impressed with the practicality of the idea that he ordered one of the incinerators to use in his own vineyards next winter.

"We probably shouldn't mention this," says Patty, glancing over her shoulder, "but we brought a piece of trimming from the tree home with us, along with some acorns, which I planted." She does not expect, however, to start her own forest, although some Dry Creek Valley farmer, in the year 2197 may have the perfect source for five or six excellent barrels.

A side benefit from the forest trip, besides the fun and excitement of seeing the steps in obtaining the right wood, says Dave, is that he now feels a familiarity with the forest, and can specify virtually the very tree he wants for his next order of barrels.

COPYRIGHT 1997 Hiaring Company
COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group