20L French barrel

Joe - do you use barrels that small? Seems to me that they're hardly wirth the $, what with leakage and the relatively short barrel time without overoaking.

It was a gift; If I bought a barrel I would be looking in the 15 to 30 gallon range, probably Hungarian. 15 gallons would be fine since i could probably keep wine in it year round.

I like beans and chips so right now it's not on my short list. An AO setup is though...

Joe

Mine too. Let me know when you get your AO, where from and how you like it.

Paul

I bought my AO set up from MoreWine and use it almost all the time. The only criticism I have is the strength of the pump. I want to keep shopping and see if I can get a slightly stronger air pump that still fits the current tubing.

On my "wish I had list" ... an ebulliometer ...

Ric:

- How long does a test take on average?

- What's the shelf life for the reagents?

- I don't remember the details but I think there was a pre-titration/ neutralization step involved - do you have to do this every time you do a testing session or can you store the prepared solution for later use - if yes, for how long?

Thx,

Pp

Thanks everyone for the advice.

It's a medium toast French barrel by Tonnellerie Allary (not paraffin wax lined).

It was a gift although 20L is probably all I can handle as I make on average 120 liters per year. I wish the barrel had not been drilled for a spigot though... The first year might be a bit hairy as I understand 2-3 weeks might be enough time & i would need to rotate the wines to keep it full.

I have a 54L of Syrah & 54L of Pinot Noir this year, I'm looking forward to trying this out... I've only previously dealt with oak chips.

BTW, what's an AO?

Cheers,

Ange

AO = Aeration Oxidation ... the process by which you can determine the levels of free (or total) SO2 in your wine. If you care about maintaining SO2 at near precise levels, it is a must have. Alternatively, you can simply err on the high side and maintain a scheudle of sulfite additions according to the pH.

Essentially, you pull (or push) air through an acidified sample of wine, then bubbling the released air through an acid-neutralized sample of H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide) for a defined period of time. Then titrate that solution to determine the level of SO2. The SO2 is released from the wine due to acidification and agitation (bubbling). As it passes through the neutralized H2O2, sulfuric acid is created. By titrating that, you can determine how much SO2 was released.

Most of the kits are pretty expensive because they use a vacuum pump. But you can reduce the cost a lot by pushing air rather than vacuum pumping it. The difference is in the integrity of the tubing and closures. If you are pushing air through, those tubes, couplings, and closures have to be perfect - or else you will get a false low reading. Vacuum pumping is arguably more efficient and less prone to error - but it costs more. Two years into it, and I'm still fiddling with improving tube couplings - but my SO2 measurements are plenty accurate enough (as verified by lab sampling). I use it religiously as I wish to maintain SO2 at the lowest possible levels - but with enough to keep the wine from harm.

Truth be told - I have more variance in my pH measurements than I do my SO2 measurements. I am using a Hanna hand-held meter, now on my second or third probe, and still find it to be less than stable. I keep it in storage solution, and perform two-point calibrations prior to use - but still get variant readings. I am considering investing in a more expensive table top pH probe.