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Coordinateur : Emilie Destandau (ICOA)

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Autre personnel impliqué: 

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Résumé : The wood solutions (barrels, staves, shavings) used to age wines and eaux de vie are mostly made from oak. The two species traditionally used are sessile oak for wine aging and pedunculate oak for Cognac aging. The oak forests of the Centre-Val de Loire region are renowned for the quality of their trees and staves. However, with climate change, these forests are becoming vulnerable, and other oak species, notably the more drought-resistant pubescent oak, could be subject to assisted migration to conserve the oak forest's specific biodiversity. Knowledge of the properties of pubescent oak wood is improving, which means that these trees can now be used for cooperage, but it is widely recognized that the chemical composition of the wood influences the organoleptic character (astringency, aroma, sweetness) of wines. The aims of this project are therefore (i) to characterize the chemical composition of pubescent oak and compare it with that of traditional sessile and pedunculate oak species, and (ii) to assess its organoleptic impact on the aging of wines and Cognac. This project will help to secure one of the main ways in which the oaks of the Loire Valley can be used, i.e. wood for oenology, and will bring a truly innovative and pioneering character to the wine and spirits industry by using this species to give products new sensorial qualities.