Cellar-Tek Supplies, a winery, brewery, cidery and distillery supplier based in British Colombia and Ontario, has, for several months, been providing a new option that answers the increasing demand from wine-makers for a broader choice of winemaking and ageing tools. That option is a new range of Hungarian oak barrels offered by François Frères (Burgundy), in addition to the traditional French oak barrels. Hungarian oak brings new aromatic profiles together with competitive prices.
Perry Maxfeld, Cellar-Tek’s General Manager, emphasizes that Hungarian oak barrel will respond to the new expectations of the market: “Hungarian oak brings very interesting spicy notes as much to the Syrah, Pinot Noir and Merlot from the Okanagan Valley in British Colombia as to the Cabernet Franc and Pinot Noir in Ontario. Hungarian oak offers very similar organoleptic characteristics to French oak and adapts to every sort of ageing, although remaining in a more accessible price range”.
An assessment confirmed by Max Gigandet, François Frères’ cooperage General Manager: “there is an increasing demand from the greatest wineries for a wider choice at an accessible price. The new Hungarian oak barrels are a good answer to this demand and they are a ft both for our Burgundian varieties and for other grape varieties, for which the results can be exceptional. Moreover, the trend is to search for more discreet oaky notes, which won’t overwhelm the “terroir”of the wines. François Frères’ several generations of know-how and experience deliver an exceptional subtlety and a minimum impact on wines, specifically by adjusting the lengths and the quality of toasting. As always, our extensive knowledge and choice of the best terroirs in Hungary allow a selection of the best oak trees and of the finest grains, which will provide a perfectly controlled toast during the ageing of great wines”. The number of wine estates in Canada has grown significantly in the last 25 years and the ageing of fine wines in oak barrels has followed the same trend.
Cellar-Tek and François Frères, partners since 2013
François Frères cooperage and Cellar-Tek Supplies – providers of both equipment and supplies for the wine, beer, cider & spirits industry – both share the same abiding values of excellence, quality and consistency, a philosophy which led to a distribution partnership for the Canadian market in 2013.
Cellar-Tek
Created in 2004, Cellar Tek offers its services to the needs of wine, beer, cider and spirits producers who require a trusting and attentive relationship with their winemaking ingredients and oak barrel supplier. Cellar-Tek’s commitment to customer service excellence is at the top of their priorities in all facets of their business.
François Frères
François Frères has been committed to listening to its customers and providing them with a guarantee of excellence since it was founded in 1910. One of their fundamental values is consistency: François Frères cooperage, located in the heart of Burgundy, combines exceptional expertise with high-tech precision, in the purest artisan-cooper tradition.
The company’s years of experience producing high-quality barrels is the result of a permanent dialogue, and a relationship of trust, with winemakers and wine merchants in the search of customized solutions. It is this ability to listen closely to its customers that has enabled François Frères to establish a presence on five continents in the space of four generations.
Today, the François Frères Cooperage is proud to include the greatest international wine houses and estates among its customers. Its main export markets are the United States, Canada, Australia, Italy, Spain, New Zealand, Portugal… as well as Brazil, and Israel in recent years.
