At H&A, we want to offer our customers quality barrels to sublimate your wine and spirits production. By the past, we introduced you our barrel cleaning process.
Today, we are highlighting the barrel regeneration, which combines ecological awareness with alcohol enhancement.
When we talk about a regenerated barrel, this refers to the process of regenerating a barrel. A regenerated barrel should not be confused with a cleaned barrel.
A regenerated barrel refers to a classic barrel that has already contained a product, mainly wine. After having spent between 3 and 5 years in the wine world, the barrels are collected by our teams. It is at this point that we start the regeneration process.
The barrels submitted to this process are barrels with a stave (barrel wall) of 27mm thickness. During the regeneration process, the stave is planed a few millimetres to obtain a new stave, a new "skin" for the barrel. Once this new stave has been made, the barrel is toasted. This will allow the barrel to be reused later.
The toasting phase can be customised. Depending on the toasting temperature, it will be possible to obtain different aromatic extractions. Regenerated barrels can be used for white wine, red wine, beer or spirits. It is the toasting that determines the future use of the barrel.
On the other hand, a cleaned barrel is not subjected to this scraping phase and the heating. The cleaned barrel will be purified from the inside via a specific cleaning process in order to avoid any deviation
We take care of the environment. Our mission is to provide each of our customers with quality, environmentally friendly barrels.
This is the case for our regenerated barrels. They are part of environmental protection and our
quality charter.
Regenerated barrels do not mean cheap barrels. It's quite the contrary! This is especially true for aroma extraction and environmental footprint.
For H&A Group, upcycling is a natural choice. We have chose to combine environmental friendliness with superior product quality.
Another important aspect of upcycling is the traceability of the barrels. Today, we are able to provide you with a complete traceability of each barrel. You will be able to find out where the wood came from and who owned the barrel.
The upcycling option is a real financial and ecological alternative. For a new barrel, the average price is €900 and for a regenerated barrel, €200 to €250.
Our regenerated barrels are real advantage for the environment, but not only. Indeed, H&A regenerated barrel will have an important role in the maturation, whatever the type of spirit: whisky, cognac or any other spirit.
The barrel itself and its wood will sublimate the raw material used in your spirit, without masking it, whether it is grapes, cereals, etc. The barrel will also offer the inputs for the maturation of the spirit.
Today, the barrels of the greatest wineries are extremely popular for the ageing and maturation of spirits. The regenerated barrels of the these wineries are also appreciate as finish barrels.
It brings to spirits such as sherry, muscatel or porto real aromas which gives the spirit an additional complexity.
To not alter the quality and maturation of the spirits, our regenerated barrels can only be used once. As we have seen, the regeneration process consists of shaving few millimetres off the stave of each barrel.
On the other hand, wine and alcohol have different degrees of penetration into the wood. Wine can penetrate 2 to 4 mm, while alcohol can be 1 cm.
In other words, the use of a regenerated barrel sublimate your alcohol and give it a unique aromatic profile.
You have just discovered the process used by H&A to regenerate barrels. They can then be reused for maturing spirits. If you have any questions or requests for information on this subject, please contact us!