Barrel Sur Lees Fermentation

If you live near Baltimore, you might try S&S winegrapes. I don't believe they open until September though. They carry some new and refurbished barrels.

I would think you would get a LOT of oak in your Chardonnay from a new barrel. You might want to check out some wineries near you and see if they would sell you a "spent" barrel that they are going to replace. Fermenting in barrel will require checking for H2S frequently and stirring on a regular basis. I have never done this as a hobbyist (did some at a commercial winery) so others may offer some better and more complete advice.

Personally I would never use a whiskey barrel for wine. A neighbor used one and it gave his wine a real burbon flavor, but I'm sure he didn't treat it first with barrel kleen.

You need to make sure not to allow the Chardonnay to finish fermenting in the barrel. The more alcohol it has the more oak it will get. It's a good way to break in a new barrel though. Just have something waiting to go in.

I currently have a 5 gal american and a 60 gallon french oak barrel in the basement. This fall I'm going to do a big batch of Cabernet and plan on buying a couple 30's for long term aging.

I bought my 60 gallon barrel on ebay for $100 + $65 shipping using Fedex. They advertised that the barrels were ozone'd after being cleaned out. I have had a cab/merlot in it with no problems for a year. The barrel new is about $700. It still had a lot of oak left in it. You could smell the sweetness in it.

Frank Bac> I'm considering barrel fermentation for a fall batch of Chardonnay. I was

Consider Canada; the exchange rate helps a little.

Whiskey barrels are rarely 30 gallons and have the wrong toast level too; besides the whiskey was in them for several years. That said, my grandfather made good reds in whiskey barrels. A typical whiskey barrels still has a gallon of whiskey stuck in it's staves; that is hard to overcome the first year. Old Italians around here use that as a way around using 'chemicals' like sulfite. I think wine made that way is well, different to say the least. You can get it out of there but you still have a charred, not toasted barrel unless you tear it apart and scrape it clean and then toast it. If you are good with wood you can do that, just mark the pieces first.

You want a toasted wine barrel. The barrelmill is pretty reasonable.

Joe

I did a barrel-fermented Chardonnay this fall. I used a new French Oak (15g) barrel and I couldn't be happier with the results. I got it direct from Bouchard Cooperage - (I forget their web address - google it and you'll find it.).

I agree with the other guys - buy a good quality wine barrel. Buying new is more expensive but so is your time and the contents. This is one decision where you don't want to be penny-wise and pound- foolish.

I wouldn't let new oak scare you, at least not new French Oak. My Chard has been in the barrel 6 months and still expresses lots of fruit. If aging sur lies, the dead and autolyzed yeast in the barrel absorb some of the wood phenolics. As Paul mentioned, stirring guards against reduction but also enhances the flavor and mouthfeel. Keep the barrel topped up every 2 weeks or so. With a new barrel I don't use any barrel treatment other than swelling the barrel. Don't forget to sulfite judiciously every quarter. SO2 will be lost more quickly from a barrel than glass.

There's lots of good advice about this on this newsgroup from very experienced people if you search around. These people have helped my efforts greatly.

RD

You've had your Chardonnay in a new french oak barrel for 6 months?

I would have thought it would be over oaked.

RD wrote:

Not even close but barrel-fermentation and sur lies/battonage is not the same as dumping a chardonnay wine into a barrel for oak aging.