Craftsmanship and family ties result in quality and finesse at Vinéa.

After a recent visit to the mother company, Vinéa France, in Jonzac, about 60 km north of Bordeaux, Marius van Tonder, managing partner of Vinéa SA, believes closeknit family ties are one of the reasons behind this family’s business success.

“Visiting Vinéa France is so much more than going to see my supplier,” he says. “It’s like visiting family. I have known Jean-Christophe Varron, the president of Vinéa, for more than 15 years and I am proud to call him a great friend.”

This company truly is a family business. Jean-Christophe’s wife, Stephanie, and his nephew, Edouard, are involved in the sales department. His daughter, Anouck, joined the company in 2011 as executive assistant.

“I also met Benoit Torcheboeuf, the new chief cooper who started at Vinéa in February 2015. Benoit is a member of the exclusive Compagnons du Tour de France, which is a French organisation of craftsmen and artisans, dating from the Middle Ages. Their traditional technical education includes a lengthy apprenticeship and travelling around France while learning handson from the most competent masters. This background makes Benoit one of only a select few coopers in the world with these highly regarded skills and expertise. Having seen his work, I am now more confident than ever that the craftsmanship and finish of our barrels will match the quality and finesse of our oak.”

The quality of the 2015 vintage was mirrored by the success of Vinéa South Africa. The company achieved an increase of 30% in its annual turnover, demonstrating a growth in both its barrel and alternative oak product sections. This made it the best year yet for the company, now in its ninth year of operation.

According to Marius, the growth in barrel sales can be attributed to their exceptional and innovative Eclat barrel, which is toasted by means of ceramic radiant heat.

“We launched our new Eclat barrel range just before the 2013 vintage and are happy to report that already more than 40 wineries are trialling and implementing this revolutionary French oak barrel in South Africa,” Van Tonder says.

What makes the Eclat barrel so different is the toasting process where ceramic radiant heat enables reproduction of the finest toasting principles in traditional coopering, while allowing optimal thermo degradation throughout the depth of the stave. It also ensures precision control of temperature and length of toasting. Thanks to this accuracy, the toasting level and results are repeatable, barrel after barrel.

“This is a very gentle and respectful means of toasting high-quality, wellseasoned oak,” Van Tonder says. “The toasting process is very clean as no wood is used to stoke fires, which means no smoke or discoloration from smoke is present. Another important benefit of ceramic toasting is that no charring or blister forming occurs. But what really sets the Eclat barrel apart from its competitors are the sensorial advantages obtained. The Eclat barrel is extremely respectful of the wine’s natural fruit because of the absence of a smoky character. A rich ‘sucrosity’ on the mid-palate also gives roundness and the perception of sweetness, and with this barrel you get an exceptional length and softness on the back palate. Another advantage is the fact that no off-flavours are formed because there is no charring of the oak.”

More products from Vinéa

Vinéa also manufactures two other types of barrels. The Artizana French oak barrel is toasted with fire and represents the best qualities that a truly traditional, hand-crafted barrel can bring to your wine.

The Mendocino American oak barrel is delicate, rounded and exotic, with genuine presence. Excellent North American (Minnesota and Wisconsin) terroirs and 26 months’ open-air seasoning are the key features in a programme that ensures its quality.

Vinéa is also well known for their highly regarded range of alternative products, and find themselves at the forefront of this market. Vinéa, a pioneer in the industry since 1994, has always prided themselves on their traditional approach to manufacturing alternatives.

“We believe that wood’s primary purpose is to give structure and length to wines, rather than just to be used as a tool for aromatic profiling. After years of involvement with many wineries across the globe, some of them carrying out extensive trials on various products, the comments coming back from our clients are always the same. They truly believe that using Vinéa alternatives are the closest they can get to reproducing the characteristics of a classic oak barrel in their wines.

“We believe the key to reaching these goals lies in the ability to season the oak correctly for the correct length of time. This can only be done if you are confident of the stock levels in your wood yard, so no compromise on seasoning time is ever necessary”, van Tonder concluded. 

Contact Marius van Tonder

Vinéa South Africa

082 616 0610

[email protected]


more on wineland.co.za