GB2181403A

GB2181403A - Container for aging wine

Info

Publication number: GB2181403A
Application number: GB08623828A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Donald Eugene Panoz
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1986-09-15
Filing date: 1986-10-03
Publication date: 1987-04-23
Also published as: GB8623828D0; BE905552A; IE852444L

Abstract

Apparatus for aging and flavouring wine comprises a container closable to a substantially airtight condition and retaining means for holding at least one wooden, suitably oak, member 22 within the receptacle. The or each wooden member has a charred surface for contacting wine held in the receptacle to age and flavour the wind. The ratio of charred wood surface (in square metres) to the volume of wind (in litres) is 1:42 to 1.336. The wooden members are preferably slats extending vertically or horizontally (Fig. 5) within the container, the slats being removably retained in sockets 18 in the base and top of the container or on concentric ridges on the container side walls (Fig. 5). The container may include pump means 25 or stirrers for agitating the wine. The container may be of stainless steel. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in wine production This invention relates to improvements in wine production and aging and, in particular, is concerned with methods by which aging and flavouring of wines may be achieved more quickly, more economically and more consistently than has hitherto been possible.

Various types of apparatus for aging distilled alcoholic liquors, especially whiskey, are known fron U.S. Patent Specifications Nos.

2,105,693, 2,135,622, 2,289,245, 2,657,629, 3,021,780 and 4,073,955. Such apparatus include various charred wooden members to increase the surface area of charred wood exposed to the liquor during aging. No such apparatus has been proposed for the aging of wine.

In the conventional manufacture of wine, the wine juice after extraction from the grape is allowed, during a particular stage of the process, to age and acquire a modified flavour or taste by residing in oak barrels, the wood on the interior surface of the barrels having been charred, smoked or toasted (hereinafter collectively referred to as being "charred") prior to assembly of the barrels. The wine may remain in contact with the charred oak wood for anything from about 1 to 12 months during which it is repeatedly tested until the quantity and taste desired by the wine maker are achieved.

Traditionally, the barrels used for this purpose have a nominal capacity of around 55 U.S. gallons (approximately 210 liters) and are filled to around 90% capacity. The internal dimensions of these barrels are such that the ratio of square feet of exposed charred wood per gallon of wine is approximately 1:2 whilst the fill volume, barrel shape and method of storage of the barrels are such that only limited agitation (and therefore contact of all of the wine with the wood) is possible. As a result, residence times of the wine in the barrels are variable as are the flavour and speed of aging achieved in each barrel.This in turn requires repeated testing of each barrel to try to achieve a common standard and, even with a highly skilled winemaker, the need to blend the contents of many different barrels to produce tanks of wine some 10 to 100 times greater in volume prior to further processing and bottling makes it extremely difficult to produce a wine of consistent taste and quality from batch to batch.

A further problem resulting from the use of such barrels is that, in practice, they may only be used a limited number of times before their effect on the wine is no longer significant. At this time, the barrel must either be discarded or must be completely dismantled, the internai surface scraped and cleaned, the wood recharred and the barrel reassembled. Such work requires the services of a skilled cooper and, since additionally the wood being used is traditionally oak, this work is expensive and time consuming.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to overcome certain of the aforementioned problems. In particular, the present invention provides means for aging and flavouring wine in contact with charred oak wood, the surface area of exposed wood per gallon being much larger than that possible with conventional barrels.

Accordingly the present invention provides an apparatus for aging and flavouring wine, comprising a receptacle closable to a substantially airtight condition, retaining means for holding at least one wooden member within the container, the or each wooden member having a charred surface for contacting wine held in the receptacle to age and flavour said wine, wherein the ratio of the total surface area (in square feet) of the charred surface of the wooden member(s) which is in contact with the wine, relative to the volume of wine (in U.S. gallons) containable therein is in the ratio 1:1 to 1:8 square feet:U.S. gallons (1:42 to 1:336 square metres:litres), preferably 1:1 to 1:4 square feet:U.S. gallons (1:42 to 1:168 square metres:litres). Most preferably the ratio is 1:1 to 1:2 square feet:U.S. gallons (1:42 to 1:84 square metres:litres).

The receptacles of the present invention may be manufactured of any material suitable for the retention of wine but conveniently the material is stainless steel. The receptacle or tank is preferably provided with pump means for the transport of the wine into and out of the tank although of course simple gravity filling and emptying would also be acceptable.

Ideally the tank also contains means for agitating the wine since this has been found to provide a considerable advantage in terms of speed and consistency of aging compared with the conventional barrel.

The wood used in the apparatus of the present invention is traditionally an oak wood which is charred in a manner well known in the art. The location of the wooden member(s) in the tank is not critical but preferably is such that they are capable of easy insertion and removal. ideally without necessarily emptying the wine. Advantageously therefore, the wooden members are in the form of strips capable of insertion into the tank through an opening in the top of the tank closable by a cover, the strips being held by appropriate retaining means in spaced apart relationship and the members are of a shape which maximizes the charred surface area exposed to the wine.

As an example, for a tank capable of holding 500 U.S. gallons (1895 litres) in the form of a vertical cylinder, convenient tank dimensions would be six feet six inches (6'6") (195 cm) high and four feet (4') (120 cm) in diameter.

The charred oak wood members would be in the form of strips of approximate dimensions 6'x3"x1" (180X7.5x2.5 cm) each giving an exposed surface area of some 4 square feet (3600 sq. cm). Depending on the chosen ratio of charred wood surface to wine volume, the appropriate number of strips, for example 62 in the case of a 1:2 ratio, are inserted into the tank.

In another embodiment of the invention the wood used in the tank may be in the form of horizontally located slats spaced apart throughout the tank in such numbers and dimensions as required to meet the aforementioned ratios. In this example, the slats are conveniently shaped to be removably located on ridges formed on the inside surface of the tank at spaced intervals and are normally inserted into the tank in the required numbers whilst the tank is empty.

In either embodiment of the invention, the wood is readily removable from the tank when the charred surface begins to lose its efficacy and the strips or slats are easily scraped clean and recharred without the need for the skills or the delays involved in renovating and reconstructing the conventional barrel.

The apparatus of the present invention permits increased exposure of the charred wood surfaces to the wine, continuous or intermittent agitation of the wine whilst in contact with the charred wood, and allows for simpler renovation and recharring of the wood without dismantling a barrel. The foregoing advantages allow greater quantities of wine to be produced with less blending involved and hence more product consistency can be achieved.

The apparatus of the present invention also permits increased ratios of charred wood area to wine volume to be achieved which in turn ensures that a given amount of aging and flavour enhancement can be reached more quickly than using traditional barrels, so speeding the overall production process and increasing overall plant capacity.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which; Figure 1 is a perspective view of an apparatus according to the invention; Figure 2 is a diagrammatic perspective view of the apparatus of Fig. 1 and showing the internally mounted wooden members; Figure 3 is a diagrammatic side view of the apparatus of Fig. 2; Figure 4 is a sectional plan view along the line I-I in Fig. 3; and Figure 5 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings wherein similar numerals have been used to indicate like parts, and referring in particular to Figs. 1 to 4, there is shown therein an apparatus for aging and flavouring wine according to the invention, generally indicated at 10. The apparatus 10 comprises a generally cylindrical stainless steel tank 11, including a body portion 12 and having hemispherical top and bottom covers 13, 14 respectively. The top and bottom covers 13, 14 are adapted in suitable manner to be removably secured on the body portion 12, as shown, to provide a substantially air tight tank 11. The body portion of the tank 11 is approximately six feet six inches (195 cm) in height and four feet (120 cm) in diameter and can hold approximately 500 U.S. gallons (1895 litres) of wine.The tank 11 is held in an upright position by means of a square shaped frame 15 in which the tank is located, as shown.

The lower end 16 of the body portion of the tank has mounted thereon a base plate 17 in which there is a plurality of spaced apart rectangular sockets 18. The base plate 17 forms a seal with the lower end 16 of the body portion 12. The upper end 19 of the body portion 12 has mounted thereon a top plate 20 in which there is provided a plurality of slots 21 each one of which corresponds with a unique socket in the base plate 17. A plurality of oak wood members 22 which have been charred on their outer surface, in a manner known in the art for charring the oak members of conventional wine barrels, are retained within the body portion 12 in parallel spaced apart relationship, between the sockets 18 and corresponding slots 21.The lower end 23 of each member 22 is located in one of the sockets 18, and the upper end 24 of each member projects through and slightly above the corresponding slot 21 in the top plate 20. The dimensions of the slots 21 and the sockets 18 are slightly larger than the dimensions of the ends of the oak wood members 22 so that the members are readily located.

The total surface area of the oak wood members 22 in square feet between the top plate 20 and base plate 17, in relation to the volume in- U.S. gallons of wine which is containable in the body portion 12 is ideally in the ratio 1:2. (1:84 square metres:litres). A pump 25 is mounted within the lower cover 14 and is connected into the body portion 12 through suitable apertures (not shown) in the base plate 17 via conduits 26 and 27, so that wine in the body portion 12 can be agitated by circulating it through the pump. In an alternative arrangement, a motor (not shown) may be mounted within the top or bottom covers 13, 14, to rotate a stirrer to agitate wine held in the tank 11. A tap 28 is provided in the body portion 12 adjacent to the base plate 17, to enable the contents of the container to be readily drained through the conduit 29.

The wine for aging and flavouring may be simply poured into the tank 11 through an aperture (not shown) in the top plate 20, however, in another arrangement a pump (not shown) may be located in the conduit 29 and may be utilized to pump wine into and out of the tank 11 as desired.

In use, a desired number of oak wood members 22 which have been charred in the manner known in the art of wine making, are inserted into the tank 12 as hereinbefore described. It will be understood that not all of the sockets 18 and slots 21 need contain an oak wood member 22, but that the number of such members 22 may be selected depending on the volume of wine to be aged and flavoured within the tank 12. The wine to be aged is poured into the tank 11 and fills the body portion 12 of the tank up to a level just below the top plate 20. The top cover 13 is secured on the body portion 12 to provide the substantially airtight tank 11. The wine is then stored in the tank 11, in contact with the charred oak wood members for a time period during which the wine is repeatedly tested, until the quality and taste desired by the wine maker is achieved.During this time period, the wine may be agitated as herein described by circulating it through the pump 25. In addition, some of the oak wood members 22 may be removed or other fresh oak wood members 22 inserted into the tank 11 to vary the aging and flavouring process. Once the wine has reached the desired quality and taste it may be drained from the tank 11 via the tap 28 and conduit 29.

The tank 11 is then available to be used once again for aging and flavouring a new batch of wine. Once, the efficacy of the oak wood members 22 has been reduced through use, they are simply removed, then cleaned and recharred. This task is quite readily carried out and a skilled craftsman is not required as is the case in recharring and reassembling conventional wine barrels.

Referring now to Fig. 5 there is shown therein another embodiment of the invention generally indicated at 50. The only difference between this embodiment of the invention and that described previously, is that the oak wood members 22 are replaced in the present embodiment by generally horizontally located spaced apart layers of charred oak wood slats 51. Thus, the base plate 17 in the present embodiment does not require any sockets 18, and the top plate 20 does not require any slots 21. Indeed, the top plate 20 is not necessarily required in this embodiment of the invention. However, a plurality of circular concentric ridges (not shown) formed on the inside surface of the body portion 12, and spaced apart along its length, are provided to support the layers of slats 51 in a horizontal position. The layers of slats 51 are spaced from each other by such an amount as is necessary to achieve a required number of layers and thus, a desired surface area of charred oak wood.

Claims

1. Apparatus for aging and flavouring wine, comprising a receptacle closable to a substantially airtight condition and, retaining means for holding at least one wooden member within the receptacle, the or each wooden member having a charred surface for contacting wine held in the receptacle to age and flavour said wine and wherein the ratio of the total surface are (in square metres) of the charred surface of the wooden member(s) which is in contact with the wine, to the volume of wine (in litres) containable therein is approximately 1:42 to 1:336.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said ratio is approximately 1:42 to 1:168.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein said ratio is in the range 1:42 to 1:84.

4. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the wooden members are insertable into the receptacle through an opening closable by a cover.

5. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the retaining means comprises a base plate spaced from a top plate, the base plate having a plurality of spaced apart sockets for receiving a lower end of each member, the top plate having a corresponding plurality of slots for receiving the upper ends of the members.

6. Apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the sockets and slots are arranged to hold the wooden members in members in parallel spaced apart relationship.

7. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein there is provided means for agitating the wine in the receptacle.

8. Apparatus as claimed in any one of claims 1-4, wherein the wooden member(s) is (are) arranged as substantially horizontally located slats spaced apart throughout the receptacle.

9. Apparatus as claimed in claim 8, wherein the retaining means comprises a plurality of spaced apart concentric ridges arranged on the inside surface of a body portion of the receptacle.

10. Apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein there is further provided pump means for the transport of wine into and out of the receptacle.

11. Apparatus according to claim 1, substantially as hereinbefore described with parti cular reference to and as illustrated in Figs.

1-4 and Fig. 5 of the accompanying drawings.