Barrels

If they're new, they should be tight - but fill them up with cold water just to be sure. If they don't leak (or when they _stop_ leaking) empty them and fill them with wine.

Don't use any so-called barrel preparation chemicals in them. You'll just end up throwing away a lot of the flavor you bought them for in the first place, and throwing away money on a bunch of crap you don't need.

How long to leave the wine in them depends on: (1) How much you like the taste of oak, (2) How big/tannic/fruity the wine is, and (3) The size of the barrel. Small barrels oak wine more rapidly than large barrels.

In general, leave the wine in until it seems a bit overoaked for your taste - especially if you intend to fine the wine, e.g. with gelatin.

Always keep your barrels topped up, sulfited and bunged tight after the wine is finished fermenting, and topped up with airlocks on if it's still perking a little.

When you empty a barrel it's nice to refill it with another wine, but if that's not possible rinse it _thoroughly_ with hot water (upside-down with a hose nozzle works pretty well), drain for a few minutes, burn a sulfur wick in it and bung it tight for storage.

Tom S

Last year I bought a new barrel, but never got around to filling it with wine, so it's been dry for about a year. I tried to prepare it by filling it with fresh water, but after about 24 hours, it's still leaking from one head. What now? Should I continue to let it soak, and if so, how long? I've read that you can't leave water in a barrel for a prolonged period of time, as it will grow mold.

Do leaks generally close up?

Lee

From my limited experience they generally do, but if you can see the leak you can plug it with a toothpick... check the archives for a more detailed post about this.

LG1111 wrote "...after about 24 hours, it's still leaking from one head. What

Lee - 24 hours is not too long. Might take a few days. One note - I bought a new barrel this spring and took it outside on my patio to fill with water and tighten up. After a few days the barrel held tight during the day but on the following morning a leak appeared. Temperature related. So, if per chance you have your barrel in a place where temperature varies a lot bring it inside.

Bill Frazier Olathe, Kansas

Plugging with a toothpick can work if the leak is in a the grain. If it's leaking through a seam then wedging wood into it might very well worsen the problem.

Here's a decent site with some barrel info:

clyde

I can now see why people liken aging wine in barrels to having a wooden sailboat. It sounds great, it looks good, but what a pain!

Lee

Personally, I'm convinced the work is worth it though! Many others will agree I'm sure.

Yeah, I look forward to having a wooden schooner some day!!

clyde

I'm working a galleon myself!

Should read I'm working on a few galleons myself!

It's really not all _that_ bad. Once a barrel is tight, it will usually not give you any problems as long as you keep it full and topped up. Small barrels are more of a headache than standard size barrels though.

Tom S