I am seriously considering getting an oak barrel(s). I don't believe I will have the wine volume to fill the standard 220L so I am considering the 55l and 110L sizes. One question that I am struggling with is how will I set these up to facilitate standard wine making operations.
To date I work with various size DJs. I built some wine tables so they are high enough so I can syphon from the Dj on the table to a DJ on the floor. How would this work with barrels most of the barrel stands I have seen are too low for this method? Will I need to start using pumps? What would be a practical wine cellar design to accomodate barrels?
If you build a support for your barrels, I found it a good idea to put coasters on the bottom of the legs. That way you can move it about and are not stuck with it sitting in one place. They are not cheap - about $10 to $12 dollars each but worth it in my opinion.
Looks like I lucked out. My local supply store has a French 115L for 660 $CA plus tax. I was actually hoping for a 55L but this will have to do. I will use it for red wines (pinot noir and cabs). I have found a lot of good info in this group on barrel maintenance but I still have a few questions:
- should I perform MLF in the barrel.
- will I be bottling from the barrel at some point
- Does wine stop acquiring oak flavor after a while? How much use is required before I can age the wine in the barrel for 1 yr.
Yes, you can but remember that the ML will stay in the barrel so don't put any wine in there that you don't want to go through ML.
You could but you will probably want to transfer it from barrel to another container. You don't have to move it all at once. In other words you don't have to have a 115L container and move all at one time. You could rack out say 5 gallons and bottle and then rack out 5 more gallons and bottle until your barrel is empty. I would suggest you do it all at one bottling and not leave your barrel empty for long.
That depends on your taste. Remember to keep your barrel topped up. It will probably require up to half a bottle weekly to keep it topped up. Part of topping up should include sampling to see how things are coming along.
Also remember that Free SO2 does not last that long in a barrel. You should be sure to check that level every month or two.
I'm sure Paul meant to say "casters" - not "coasters". :^) Just be sure they're heavy duty enough to support a full barrel of wine and the weight of the rack itself. Figuring a 50% margin, they need to be capable of supporting ~150 pounds apiece.
Yes - under airlock and topped nearly brimfull. Remember that you will then have an ML+ barrel.
You _could_, but the likelihood of sucking lees into the bottles becomes greater as you go farther down into the barrel. A couple of careful rackings could prevent that, but you should consider bulk aging the wine for a year or so in neutral (glass or stainless) storage prior to bottling. That will give the wine time to drop out much of the heavy tannins that would otherwise precipitate in the bottle and necessitate decanting of each bottle.
No, but it tapers off some. As the wine picks up oak flavor from the barrel there remains that much less flavor in the wood. After a long time the concentration of oak flavor in the wine would reach equilibrium with the concentration in the wood itself - but by then the wine would be very overoaked.
How much use is
Considering that this is a new French barrel, if you had the right fruit, say a big Cabernet, you might be able to leave it in a year in its first use. It depends a lot on your taste. It also depends on the wine you're aging.
Whatever you do, be sure that you keep your sulfur up in the wine in barrel (after ML is complete, of course) and maintain the barrel topped up and bunged tight. BTW, use a silicone bung - not a wooden bung. They seal better, are more sanitary and don't tend to crack the bung stave so easily.
Last item: Be sure to taste and top up frequently; once a week or so is good. It's a demanding job, but you gotta maintain rigorous QC! ;^D
And if you do put casters on 'em, be aware that if you use 'soft' rubber casters, they may develop flat spots from sitting in the same position for an extended time under a such weighty load.
I picked up the barrel today. I opted for a 55L French instead of the bigger size. ( I usually make 15 Gal batches). I got a feeling this will not be my last barrel if it works out. I haven't opened it yet but the barrel came wrapped up in paper and cardboard. Two of us should be able to carry the barrel full so I am designing a stand to fit in a corner of the wine cellar. I will forgo the casters for this one. I am thinking of putting in a 2003 Chardonnay (mediocre tart wine) to start followed by a 2004 Baco Noir and then 2004 Cab Franc.
Hi Tom Thanks for the tips. I feel much more comfortable now. I had been thinking the 1st wine in the barrel could be a 15 Gal batch of Cab Sauv once it finishes fermenting rack it to a DJ for a few days to drop the gross lees and then in the prepared barrel and inoculate with MLF. But I like your idea of aging the wine 1yr before putting in the barrel. Do I need 2 barrels? How many barrels do hobby home winemakers tend to have?
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