The Bordeaux Vinitech 2010 Gold Medal for Technical Innovation in Wine was awarded to Tonnellerie Radoux for OakScan™, it was announced by the official commission of Vinitech  in Bordeaux, France. This prestigious and coveted award will be presented during the 2010 Bordeaux Vintitech International Exhibition of Equipment and Services for the Wine Industry, one of the world’s largest and most prestigious wine industry trade shows, to be held November 30-December 2, 2010. A panel of 40 industry experts have determined the distinction based on advancement in three areas: innovation, quality and the environment.

Radoux OakScan™, a new tool for controlling the quality of barrels, utilizes near infrared spectrometry (NIRS) to deliver the instantaneous quantification of the extractable tannins (ellagitannins) in individual oak staves before they enter production. Since extractable tannins have a profound effect on the organoleptic properties of the wine or spirits they contact, Radoux OakScan™ enables customers to understand the potential tannic contribution of finished barrels and how it relates to their products.

Radoux OakScan™ ensures that the wood used is perfectly suitable to the specific objectives of each customer and enables Tonnellerie Radoux to guarantee that the Radoux barrels supplied to their customers have a homogenous content of ellagitannins.

“Our OakScan™ process takes a giant step in the world of barrel making,” said Vice President, Sales and Marketing Nicolas Mähler-Besse of Tonnellerie Radoux. “It is the greatest evolution in the cooperage industry in the last 20 years.”

Radoux OakScan™ was developed following a five-year study in partnership with the French research institutes INRA, CEMAGREF, CIRAD and the Ondalys company.

The 2010 Vinitech International Exhibition of Equipment and Services for the Wine Industry is held in even years in Bordeaux, France. The spotlight is on innovation; more than 1,5000 exhibitors will showcase and unveil their latest sector-specific products and solutions to the over 50,000 guests that are expected during the three-day event.

About Tonnellerie Radoux
With its Santa Rosa, CA subsidiary Tonnellerie Radoux USA (www.radouxcooperage.com), Tonnellerie Radoux (www.radoux.fr) is one of the World’s leading cooperages, manufacturing the finest French oak barrels, tanks, puncheons, casks, chips and insertable staves. The company also makes high-quality oak barrels from Eastern European forests as well as the United States from the three regions renowned for their white oak: Minnesota, Missouri and Appalachia. Established in 1947, Tonnellerie Radoux is certified by ISO 9001:2000 standards, and is recognized by the quality-assurance agency Bureau Veritas.

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Vinitech Palmares Trpohees de ‘’Innovation press release:
http://www.vinitech.fr/en/press-center/press-releases/1404-palmares-trophees-de-l-innovation.html