The use of barrels has a long tradition in winemaking imparting both Oak flavours and adding smoothness to wines during maturation. By using these same traditional seasoning and firing techniques to our range of Oak Adjuncts we are able to replicate this barrel structure in wines without the high expenses of barrel purchase and maintenance.

The use of these Oak adjuncts provides the winemaker with greater flexibility with oak flavour profiles in his oak regime at considerable savings over traditional barrels. Suber Lefort's Premium 'Traditional' and 'XOV' style products offers the winemaker a choice of, or combination of two distinct flavour profiles.

For nearly 20 years Suber Lefort has been producing quality oak adjuncts for winemakers. Initial trials of adjunct manufacture consisted of crudely (by todays standard) toasted oak shavings and reclaimed spent wine barrels from cooperages and wineries. Although some of our competitors still use these waste products, Suber Lefort has determined that better resutls can be obtained by sourcing high quality wood from the best French & American forests, seasoning in both their places of origin followed by further seasoning in Australia prior to processing into the various products used by todays winemakers.

Our constant research and development has seen the introduction of two distinct toasting regimes providing the winemaker with a wider oak flavour profile than was formally available.

Our Traditional toasting process mimics that of barrel toasting whilst our 'XOV' toasted product skews the oak flavour profile to enhance the vanillin, furfural and spiciness whilst minimising the astringincy and oaky characters of the traditional profile.

Graphical representations of these differences are included here Oak_Flavour_Profiles_2.pdf

Winemakers are now more that ever blending the toasting regimes and products to provide a broader and more complex oak character in their wines. Our range of products covers winemakers requirements from powder and chip additions at crush through to fermenting and ageing on staves and the use of special finishing oaks in infusion nets at the end of the vinification process.

Suber Lefort's long standing within the wine industry stems from its roots in France, which today reaches into all the major winemaking areas of the world. Suber Lefort's commitment to the industry is the development of new technologies and products whilst also retaining and being tempered with the traditional products and values.

Our International markets include: -
France
Italy
Spain
Malta
USA
Argentina
Chile
China
New Zealand
South Africa

The development of Oak Barrel Adjuncts and tannins, whilst bringing more flexibility to the winemaker, is both cost effective and environmentally friendly.

Today Suber Lefort supplies a range of products for the wine industry which include:-
French and American Oak Adjuncts
Tannin extracts from: - Oak, Wood, Grape Skin and Seed Tannins

Australian company started in NSW in late 1980's before moving to the Barossa Valley in 1990. Initially the company focussed on the supply of natural wine corks together with French & American oak barrels. Soon after relocating to the Barossa Valley in South Australia, Suber Lefort was approached to research the production of toasted oak products in a form that could be added to wine. Today Suber Lefort is a major producer of specialist oak adjuncts for all stages of winemaking.

Our product range today includes the following:-
Specialty Oak Adjuncts in French, American & East European Oak
Grape & Oak Tannin extracts
Distributor for DSM Yeast, enzymes etc in South Australia