New Barrel Treatment?

Hi Shawn,

First of all you should fill the barrels with water to swell the staves and check for leakage. After that it partly depends on what wine you want to make. Personally I always ferment a white (usually chardonnay) in the barrel, followed by barrel aging of a red wine. In these cases I do not treat the barrels with anything. If I wasn't going to make a white I would put my red straight into the French oak barrel untreated, but I would consider treating (with soda ash) the American oak barrel. I have found that untreated (or unfermented) American oak barrels impart some fairly harsh/green tannins that are not apparent in the French oak barrels. I'm not sure how universal this is, it may have something to do with the producers (my American were from Gibbs, French from Moreau). Last, I don't know what the fermenting does to the oak (particularly the American oak) but from my side by side comparisons it does make a noticeable difference.

Hope that helps, Tim

Make sure the barrel is tight by filling it with water first. When it stops leaking, empty it and immediately fill it with wine and bung it tight with a rubber bung (silicone, if possible). Be sure to check it every few days to be sure it's topped up to the brim - especially at first. Also be sure your sulfite is set where it should be. When you pull the bung, sniff at the bunghole for off odors, look at the surface of the wine (It should be pristine.) and take a taste to monitor its progress. When it tastes oaky enough for your palate, leave it in a bit longer and then fine it (optional) and rack it to carboy(s) for bottling. Wash the barrel thoroughly with hot water, burn a sulfur wick in it and bung it tight. Wrap the bung with Saran Wrap to keep the SO2 gas from attacking the bung.

I recommend that you _not_ use soda ash, Barrel Kleen or anything of the kind in a new barrel because you'll end up throwing a lot of that expensive oak down the drain.

Tom S

Tim,

The primary reason for the difference between barrels made in North America and Europe is the species of oak. There are literally hundreds of species of oak, but the term American oak refers to a species of white oak called Quercus alba. There are two major types of white european oak used in barrel making, Quercus sessiliflora and Quercus robur and, generally speaking, european oaks impart less harsh tannins than american oak, hence the oakiness of the wine is more subtle and gradual than with american oak.

However, coopers in europe pay more attention to the specific district in which the oak is grown rather than the particular variety, and, like grapes, the same variety of oak can take on different characteristics due to the management of the forests, soil type, etc. The main differentiating factors include the relative openess of the grain (more open tends to impart flavours more quickly) and of course the relative concentrations of tyloses and other substances that ultimately impart flavour into the wine.

There have been large quantities of wine consumed by the coopers and winemakers while arguing the relative and subjective merits of oak barrels from different regions of France and the rest of europe. Of course like all ongoing discussions, there are few hard, fast answers.

Cheers,

Glen Duff

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Snip of useful information on French and American Oak.

Hi Glen, I too have consumed much wine while pondering the merits of French and American oak. Also, I agree that one can't overlook the cooperage, I am sure it has a profound impact on the quality of the barrel. What I have found more surprising is not the difference between the American and French oak, but the difference between american oak barrels that have fermented a wine, versus those that haven't. The oak flavors appear to me to be quite different (although this is from an n = 4!) I vaguely recall some speculation(s) on what the fermentation does to a barrel, but I can't recall what they were.

Thanks for the information. Tim

Snip of useful information on French and American Oak.

Hi Glen, I too have consumed much wine while pondering the merits of French and American oak. Also, I agree that one can't overlook the cooperage, I am sure it has a profound impact on the quality of the barrel. What I have found more surprising is not the difference between the American and French oak, but the difference between american oak barrels that have fermented a wine, versus those that haven't. The oak flavors appear to me to be quite different (although this is from an n = 4!) I vaguely recall some speculation(s) on what the fermentation does to a barrel, but I can't recall what they were.

Thanks for the information. Tim

You got good advice already, but just as a heads up:

I have a new 5 gallon American, I made a frame to hold it first. I filled it full of cool water to rehydrate, it took about 5 hours for the leaks to stop. Most of the leaking was from the heads. It just needed time, that's all. After a good rinse I drained and sulfited it and filled it with mostly fermented out red wine. I am letting it finish in the barrel. I intend to keep it full from now on by rotating one wine in after another. It's my first use of a barrel (it was a gift).

Remember the surface to volume ratio is way higher on a small barrel so take what you read about barrels with a grain of salt since they are usually using a 55 gallon barrel as a frame of reference. A 5 gallon will impart it's flavors quicker than one 10 times as large so you will need to taste it much earier than you might in a normal 30 to 60 gallon barrel.

Joe

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