Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1025306
september 2018 / the tasting panel / 43 While wine barrels can add fruitiness, body, and even sweet- ness to whiskey, it's the characteristics bourbon casks add to wine that intrigued Foster, who serves as Winemaker for Stave & Steel. A native of Eufaula, Alabama, Foster spent his summers in California working in a winery and oversees production at a historic Livermore winery in his other role as Head Winemaker at Concannon Vineyard. With these credentials, Foster has proven he knows his way around a Cabernet Sauvignon vine: With an estimated 80 percent of California's 90,000 acres of Cabernet Sauvignon planted to the Concannon Cabernet clones 7, 8, and 11, they form the backbone of the Cabernet industry in California. To craft wine for the Stave & Steel label, Foster says he selected "freshly dumped" Kentucky bourbon barrels and ran trials with various grape varieties before settling on 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. The release bears a California appellation, with Foster sourcing from sites in Paso Robles, Lodi, and Clarksburg for the 2016 vintage. With the awareness that "even just a few drops of bourbon will kill a glass of wine," Foster knew selecting the right barrels would be key to achieving his desired style: "There's a tremendous amount of flavor left in these once-used oak barrels," he says. Early entries in the whiskey barrel–aged wine category were met with some resistance, largely because their resulting flavors were essentially the same as wines spending longer periods in standard oak barrels. Foster sought to avoid that pitfall by optimizing the duration of the aging process through his trials, eventually landing on four months in barrel—"a recipe that produces a wine with drinkability," he says. To further perfect the wines, Foster spent time blind-tasting a wide range of styles in the bourbon barrel–aged category, from weak to overpowering. Because striking the right balance in alcohol content can be challenging, Foster says he starts "with a lower-alcohol red wine because we'll see a .5 to 1 percent increase in alcohol from even a very brief time in barrel," resulting in a wine with rich, round, and bold yet refined flavors. Room to Experiment As for why modern consumers find bourbon barrel–aged wine so appealing, the spirit itself provides some answers. American enthusiasm for bourbon has grown by leaps and bounds over the past decade, with growth largely attributed to the renaissance of cocktail culture and the enthusiastic support of millennials, particu- larly those interested in home entertaining and amateur mixology. Considering whiskey is making more gains with women than men as it expands its consumer base, the industry is increasingly appealing to the former with flavored whiskey and other innova- tive products. With many labels featuring only a small percent of barrel-aged wine in their finished blends, Foster says Stave & Steel sets itself apart as a 100 percent bourbon barrel–aged brand with aromas of vanilla, caramel, smoke, and some wood tannins adding more structure to the wine. Because Stave & Steel Cabernet spends a relatively short amount of time in barrel, notes of macerated cherries, dark plums, and ripe blackberries emerge prominently in the wine alongside hints of umami and brown spices. The boost the wine receives from the aging process also seems to amplify and extend the finish. Considering Foster's upbringing, it's hardly surprising he feels at home aging a Cabernet Sauvignon in bourbon barrels. "I've made wine all over the world and I think there's plenty of room for experimentation," he says. "Bourbon-barrel aging is a twist that can reinvent premium Cabernet Sauvignon." Stave & Steel ages its Cabernet Sauvignon in Kentucky bourbon barrels. I've made wine all over the world and I think there's plenty of room for experimentation. Bourbon-barrel aging is a twist that can reinvent premium Cabernet Sauvignon."