If it’s too expensive to make a vessel out of oak, why not just add oak to the neutral vessel?
A heavy door to McPrice Myers California winery slides open, leaking mid-day heat into the cool, dim sanctuary. Inside, the view is iconic: rows of oak barrels stacked floor to ceiling. This is the wine creator’s spice rack doing it’s work.
To show the power of oak during a local seminar, Paso Robles winemaker Myers and French barrel importer Ryan Render (of Le Grand, USA) are peeling back the romantic veneer of oak barrels, revealing the high-stakes science and economics hidden within those staves.
During a Paso Robles event at The Garigiste Festival last winter visitors sipped their way through four samples of wine created by Myers. The samples were all the same Syrah treated in different manners, each with a different exposure to oak. ‘Mac’, as Myers is called, will splash these oak treated wines into his most popular blended wine.
The Anatomy of an Expensive Habit
In the world of wine making, oak is more than a tasteful seasoning; it is a structural necessity. “It’s not just the flavoring,” Myers explains, gesturing to the glasses in front of him. “They add oak influence to them, adding color, aroma and structure.”
- French Oak: $1,000 to $2,500 per barrel.
- American Oak: $600 to $1,000 per barrel.
- Lifespan: Often only two cycles of three years before becoming “neutral” (flavorless).
| ‘Oak stave inserts will allow wine makers to shave costs and make some money funding their passion while keeping cost of California Wine lower.’ |
However, cutting this expense is difficult. Wine creators have used oak barrels for thousands of years. This treatment carries a high price. Many wineries would love to eliminate expensive, disposable oak barrels. Thusly, French Barrel Cooper Le Grand is experimenting with less expensive techniques for imparting oak characteristics into wine.
Their proposition: If you can’t keep using a neutral oak barrel, why can’t you insert new oak staves into the barrel to treat the wine? If it’s too expensive to make a vessel out of oak, why not just add oak to the neutral vessel?
This technique has been used by home winemakers for years because barrels are expensive. Barrels are also ungainly and heavy. Not many home wine makers keep a forklift necessary to move barrels in their garage. As well, home wine makers don’t always create full barrels of wine.
Myers says of the challenges creating and selling wine, “I can tell you after 25 years, it’s still not any easier. It’s still difficult, and as Ryan alluded to, the wine business is going through a tough time and we have to always educate ourselves and find better ways to do things.” Barrels are expensive. They’re more expensive than when he started. And he says, “The cost of labor, the cost of grapes, the cost to store it, the cost to air condition it, everything! We have to make sure that we try these different things.”
The Wave of the Future
To combat costs without sacrificing quality, Myers is experimenting with ‘ZZs’, otherwise known as barrel inserts. They’re oak staves made from the exact same high-quality French trees used in $2,500 oak barrels. Seasoning requires two to four years after toasting over open fires or convection ovens. Staves cost approximately $150.
According to Myers, “This is the wave of the future.” By placing these staves into neutral barrels or stainless steel tanks, winemakers achieve the same premium oak influence for a fraction of the cost. “We have wines that are $50 or $60 a bottle using this technique because right now, it’s really hard to make money in the wine industry.”
The Taste Test: Four Shades of Syrah
Myers leads a tasting of his “fruit-driven canvas” showing how different oak treatments transform the same liquid. This Syrah is from the Paper Street Vineyard in Paso‘s Willow Creek District.
| Sample | Treatment | The Result |
| 1. The Control | Neutral Concrete | Pure fruit, round, and ample. No wood influence. |
| 2. Rive Droite | Fire Toasted Staves | “The Framer.” Adds structure and savory notes without a “vanilla bomb.” Otherwise known as France’s Right Bank, Rhone. |
| 3. Medium Plus | Convection Oven Toasted Staves | “The Spice Rack.” High impact, creamy texture, Snickers & Milky Way Bars and vanilla. |
| 4. Rive Gauche | Fire Seared Staves | Big, bold, caramelized, and intense with a searing toast. Otherwise known as France’s Left Bank, Bordeaux. |
The Art of the Blend
For Myers, these oak inserts aren’t a shortcut to a cheap product; they are precision tools. This allows him to pinpoint a specific flavor profile—like adding a touch of creaminess or a backbone of tannin—before blending the final wine.
“Anything going into this wine better be delicious,” Myers says with the bluntness of a man finishing his 25th vintage. While the previous oak infusion alternatives (saw dust & chips of oak) were dismissed as harsh or fake 20 years ago, the oak insert technique has improved. You can now put oak staves in wine barrels, concrete or stainless wine storage tanks and generate ‘oaky’ characteristics.
As the seminar tasting concludes the message is clear: the future of California wine isn’t just about the barrels you see, but the science of the wood you don’t.
Finishing up Myers says, “I’m dipping my toe in this whole stave insert thing.” He believes oak staves resting in neutral fermenting containers will be common practice in the next five years. He continues, “It’s great for small winemakers because of the quality you’re getting and the cost effectiveness. You’re going to see more use of oak staves in California wineries.”
Oak stave inserts will allow wine makers to shave costs and make some money funding their passion while keeping cost of California Wine lower.
California wine makers are always experimenting while creating alternative vino. After all, this is the ‘Wild West’ of New World Wine. We’re all for keeping these wine makers in business, enjoying tasty wine and keeping costs lower. Keep an eye out for more alternative wine making here in California.
There are four yearly California versions of this tasting event: Solvang, Sonoma, Los Angeles, and Paso Robles. The next version of The Garagiste Festival will be in Sonoma May 2, 2026. Tickets are available at their web site link here.
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Bill & Erin Hodge write about California Wine, the estates & winemakers producing them and educational information about Vino. Living in California Wine Country provides a front row seat to the places you want to visit the most here in the Golden State.
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