Italian Oak Barrels?

After tasting a friend's Cabernet blend I am looking forward at getting a couple of oak barrels. One for red wine and 1 for white wine. I am finding very limited options in Niagara. A couple of suppliers carry French Oak 225L (990$C) ouch. Hungarian Oak Barrels. 60L ($399C) But I found a supplier yesterday that says he can get Italian Oak Barrels. 100L for 300$C. That price seems pretty good to me and the size sounds practical. I can't find any info on Italian Oak. I don't kow how it compares to American or French.

Does anyone have any expierence or has heard of Italian Oak?

Any other suggestions in getting started with an Oak Barrel will also be appreciated.

Joe

Reply to
Joe Ae
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A Google search reveals that Italian oak is Quercus Frainetto, which is the same as Hungarian oak. I didn't spot any sources on the first couple of pages, but there was a reference to Robert Mondavi winery using Italian oak tanks for bulk aging. Sounds good to me

Get a _new_ barrel, make sure the hoops are tight and fill it with cold water until it stops leaking. Then empty it and immediately refill it with wine. (Under NO circumstances should you waste your money or that expensive new oak on so-called "barrel conditioners"!) Use a silicone rubber bung in it, and keep the barrel topped up and the wine adequately sulfited. You should be able to leave a Cabernet in it for at least a year without overoaking.

Tom S

Reply to
Tom S

Watson's has oak barrels listed from Hungary listed at $500 and $595 for a 'bordeaux'. I found a small 50L barrel at a local Portuguese store, the man claimed it was Portuguese oak(Quercus faginea) It has Chardonnay in it right now.

My first barrel was a used American. I too, would recommend new Oak, even in a smaller 100L barrel... I think that would be a better value oak wise anyway. HTH

N.B. I don't work for Watson's

Reply to
Charles H

Joe - If it can be American oak try Gibbs Brothers. They have smaller barrels as well as the large ones. I'm using a new 10 gallon for my 2002 Baco/Chambourcin wine. It's been in the barrel 4 months now and isn't over oaked IMO.

Bill Frazier Olathe, Kansas

Reply to
William Frazier

Joe,

I have a 55 liter medium toast Hungarian barrel that I picked up from Watson's (Kevin Watson) at Niagara-on-the-Lake. The price was reasonable and it was beautifully made after the squat burgundian style.

The second year of use was with my 02 Chardonnay which was just bottled and it is a really promising Chardonnay with a nice oak level.

I would highly recommend them.

Glen Duff

Charles H wrote:

Reply to
Glen Duff

Thanks for the suggestions! I have seen Watson's website so I will call and get more info.

From the suggestions it sounds like the barrel will be empty for some times. It seems if you fill it with water/so2 you will lose oak flavor. If you leave it dry, the wood may dry out and leak problems could develop.

What do you do with your oak barrels when they are not full of wine? How long can you expect a barrel to last?

Joe

Reply to
Joe Ae

Joe,

I have found my barrels add plenty of oak for about 3 years full of wine although it depends on the size as well, the smaller the barrel the more oak is leached out as the surface area to volume increases in smaller barrels.

Once the oakiness begins to diminish and you have two possibilities other than replacing the barrel: 1) Leave the wine in it for and extra few months or even longer with each additional year, 2) Add oak chips, I add oak chips to my red barrel and have done so for the last few vintages.

If you use oak chips buy the best, French oak chips are available at many home winemaking shops. The only problem is getting them out but it isn't a big deal, just takes an extra 10 or 15 minutes once a year.

My solution to empty barrels is to avoid leaving them empty for more than a few days. I always rack my wine into carboys and/or bottle it directly from the barrel when the next vintage is ready.

There is plenty on caring for empty barrels, just do a search on the newsgroup.

Cheers,

Glen Duff

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Joe Ae wrote:

Reply to
Glen Duff

You should be able to buy sulphur rings from your winemaking supplier. Wash out the barrel thoroughly, then leave it upside down to dry (at least a few hours). Burn one sulphur ring inside it, then insert the bung firmly.

Before using again, chuck in 20-30L of very hot water, and roll the barrel around. Then leave it on one end for an hour or so, after which you tip it over and leave it on the other end. Empty out the water, and immediately fill with wine.

Reply to
Andrew L Drumm

Thanks to everyone or the suggestions. Can't wait to get one.

Reply to
Joe Ae

Just remember their 10g is actually @ 8.5g and their 5g is 5.5g. I mean don't be surprise that one will overflow and the other you look down the bunghole and wonder what heck happened.

Also if you get them SCHT (sap clear heavy toast) you ought to give the barrel a hit from a rubber mallet and discard most of the burnt wood that else will float in your wine. They are a bit rough but you get what you pay for. I had a bad leaker and the old man from Gibbs guided me with instruction on how to fix it. They wanted to replace it but I did get the leaks cleared up by myself and the barrel is fine now.

And for all those that have spouted badly about small barrel ageing, I like to take all these extra wooden bungs I now have accumulated and bung up their asses with them. Yea, you have to watch them, wipe them, spray them but so what? They are like little babies, my babies!

SG Brix

Reply to
sgbrix

thanks for the info SG Brix!

Reply to
Joe Ae

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