Tecnobarricas sends 48 AI-classified oak barrels to winery trials
The Spanish project is testing whether sorting staves by oxygen permeability can make barrel ageing more predictable and consistent.
Tecnobarricas has produced a first batch of 48 oak barrels and distributed them to wineries for cellar trials. According to information published by Plataforma AKIS on 30 October 2026 and reported by Vinetur, the barrels were made with wood sorted by its oxygen transmission rate, or OTR.1
The Cesefor Foundation developed a system that photographs the ends of oak staves with cameras mounted on an arch. An artificial-intelligence algorithm analyses the wood’s anatomical structure and assigns each stave within seconds to a high-, medium- or low-permeability category before the barrel is assembled.1
Researchers from the University of Valladolid’s UVaMOX group will assess whether barrels in the same category behave similarly under actual cellar conditions and produce repeatable results. The trials use wines made from Verdejo, Tempranillo and Garnacha to examine whether controlled oxygenation leads to more uniform ageing than in conventional barrels.1
The collaborative project includes UVaMOX at the university’s ETSIIAA school, the Cesefor Foundation, Ramón Bilbao wineries and other organisations connected with forestry and winemaking. Results from the 48-barrel trial are expected to determine whether the classification method could be adopted more broadly by wineries and coopers.1
Sources
Written by the Dionysus editors from the sources above.
