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Lailey Vineyard Canadian Oak wine list Canadian Oak Cooperage Wine Business Magazine article on Canadian Oak |
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Lailey Vineyard released 25 cases of 2001 Chardonnay that had been fermented
and aged in Canadian oak barrels in the fall of 2002.
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This was the very first commercial release of Canadian oak aged wine in Canada |
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The wine was barrel fermented and aged for 10 months in 30 gallon barrels made by the Gibb
Bros. Cooperage in Hot Springs Arkansas, from Canadian white oak grown,
harvested, air-dried and milled near Ancaster, Ontario. The Canadian oak story begins with Cardiac Surgeon Dr. Jim Hedges and Biologist and Geologist Dr. Mike Risk. These gentlemen shared a passion for winemaking and woodworking and they had resources: several hundred acres of hardwood bush near Ancaster, Ontario, a wood mill, access to Solid State NMR spectra-generated chemical analysis and experience in forest management practices. After air-drying and milling his Canadian oak for 24 months, Dr. Hedges packed a hockey bag with some wood and hopped on a plane to Hot Springs Arkansas. He returned with some very small barrels and filled them with 1999 vintage Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon that he and Dr. Risk had made from grapes they purchased at Lailey Vineyard as home winemakers. They aged the same wines in French and American oak so that a comparative sensory evaluation would be possible. In the spring of 2000 Dr. Hedges and Dr. Risk invited the group of us at Lailey Vineyard to Hamilton for a tasting. We were impressed and decided to run a trial with Lailey Vineyard wines. Dr. Hedges and Dr. Risk had enough wood dried to make 10 x 30 gal Canadian oak barrels. We were able to secure 6 of these barrels. We waited until what was for us an excellent 2001 vintage, before introducing Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon to Canadian oak. The Chardonnay was in the oak for its full life of fermentation and ageing. The Cabernet Sauvignon was introduced to oak for ageing only. After nine months of barrel ageing, we determined that the Chardonnay was delicious and that the Cabernet Sauvignon was very good. We contacted Dr. Hedges and Dr. Risk in the summer of 2002 and provided them with sample bottles. They agreed that the wine was excellent and supported the idea of a small commercial release. By this time, Dr. Hedges and Dr. Risk had realized that the oak was commercially viable and had orchestrated the production of 20 top quality 225 L Canadian oak barrels through A & K Cooperage (supplier to Silver Oak Cellars in California) and were making them available to other small Ontario wineries under the incorporated name of Canadian Oak Cooperage. The Lailey Vineyard 2001 Canadian Oak Chardonnay was presented to the Wine Writer’s Circle in September 2002. The consensus was that the wine was excellent and that the oak and fruit married beautifully. |
Wine Writer and co-founder of Vines Magazine, Chris Waters, wrote a piece in The St. Catharines Standard giving the Canadian oak Chardonnay 4/5 stars and saying, "Apart from being significant as a pioneering effort, this is an elegant and refined Chardonnay that rivals the best of Niagara". |
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The wine was sold to a select group of Ontario restaurants and released
through our email list with a one bottle per customer limit. The 2001 Canadian Oak Cabernet Sauvingnon was blended with the 2001 Cabernet-Merlot, which has received numerous accolades. What we find most exciting about Canadian oak is how elegantly it compliments the flavours of the grapes grown in the same climate. The oak character is integrated with the wine from a very early stage in the barrel, the flavours are charmingly subtle and pervasive. The 2002 vintage release of Canadian Oak is scheduled for Saturday September 13, 2003 with a release to the press earlier that week. We will be releasing a barrel-fermented and aged Chardonnay and a barrel-aged Pinot Noir fermented with wild yeast from the vineyard, and a barrel-aged Vidal Icewine. There will be a later release of our 2002 Canadian oak-aged Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, to give these more intense varieties time to develop. |
for more information on the Canadian Oak Cooperage Company visit Canadian Oak Cooperage |