New barrel seeping wine

I wouldn't call it normal but I wouldn't say it's unusual either. I keep a sulfite solution in a spray bottle and what I do is just spritz those areas to make sure it's not still leaking. If so just try tightening the hoops (carefully, don't wig out with a sledge with wine in a barrel). :) I have a hoop tool but all you really need is something with a flat end you can drive against the hoop. I only do that if I can see a little 'crack' between staves where it's leaking.

That's all it ever took for me, I have seen my barrel leak when the temperature changes. Another way to seal them is barrel wax, just rotate the barrel to put the leak at the top and wash it out, once dry push it in like caulking.

If you ever get leaking out of the end of a stave Tom S mentioned pounding a match stick into the hole, it's ingenious.

Joe

Greg,

2 or 3 days is usually recommended as the maximun time for swelling. Longer than that can allow things to grow in stagnant water. Also, a new barrel should not need to be sterilized. Indeed, you'll find many on this NG (myself included) who feel 'conditioning' new barrels is really wasting some of that Oak flavor you paid so dearly for...particularly for French Oak barrels.

I would not assume you problem is normal. You should try to identify the source of the leak. It's not always easy with red wine staining the region but it is important. If you have a leaky sieve tube on the end of a stave, it can be fixed with a tank spile. As Joe mentioned, Tom S has posted helpful info on this. Also, there's a nice illustrated step-by-step solution at Bouchard Cooperages in the barrel care/repair section of their website

You may have two other options: a.) parafin wax b.) food-grade epoxy (Presque Isle carries stuff specifically for sealing barrels).

Something similar happened to me last year, I observed no problems until my red wine was added. (I suspect the problem was always there but just not readily visible with water.) One of my French Oak barrels had a small, seepage leak just enough to wet the end of the barrel. My leak was at the croze, however, which is not easily repaired. Bouchard replaced my barrel. Good thing, too, because it slowly got worse with time. Every top-up and re-bunging created additional pressure and continued to weaken the area. Since they did not want me to return the old barrel, I had the opportunity to try fixing the leak with parrafin and then epoxy - both failed.

I would contact the place you bought it or the manufacturer and see if they can assist. Hope this helps.

RD

I don't use barrels, so I'm asking this question from the standpoint of pure ignorance - during the swelling process, would it make sense to add food coloring to the water, to perhaps make the leaks more visible?

Rob

Probably not a good idea if you're making Chardonnay unless you intend to give it color. Maybe for St. Patrick's Day...

RD

True, true...

Here is a picture of the seeping barrel. The actual quantity of wine that has seeped out and dripped to the floor is maybe 15 drops. The strange thing is that it took a week after I put the wine in before this seeping began.

-Greg

That looks like your hoops just need snugged on that end. Wash all of that off so it doesn't turn to vinegar if it's an active leak; although that isn't a huge risk. Look for gaps between staves, if you see them it may just need snugged up.

You work from the center out and it's best to do it empty. Set the barrel on end and get a flat piece of steel and hammer, just tighten that second hoop if the middle of the barrel has no gaps. Work your way around. Then see if the top one has any room to move.

It looks like a good barrel so you may just want to contact the vendor and ask them for the next step.

As a heads up I took mine apart after Tom S told me it was no big deal and I put it back together with no issues. All I did was mark each stave with a number to get it back the same way it came apart and match marked the heads. It wasn't hard at all. I'm only telling you that in case you are told it's your problem and end up at at that point. It doesn't look like you need to do that at all. My heads were glued and warped a bit but I still got it together, I took it apart to toast it.

Joe