Sterilizing an oak barrel

You can't sterilize a barrel... if the barrel is of sound history and smells alright, it will need to be swelled with water before use. This is all that needs to be done if it's a new barrel.

If it's a used _wine_ barrel, it's advaisable to fill it with a citric acid & sulfite solution prior to use. Anything else and you risk ruining the barrel. However, if your father knows the barrel's history and it doesn't smell like vinegar on the inside, I would wager a simply swelling would be fine... most sterilization treatements are pretty harsh on the wood we pay so much for, so I advocate the gentlest of treatements for barrels.

Thanks Charles! I'll pass that on. He's got a batch of grapes he's smashing right now. He also asked me this morning to ask if you (anyone) has any advice on making wine the old fashioned way. He doesn't add any yeast or anything up front - just pick the grapes and remove them from the vine, smash em, and let em ferment for a week. Then he strains the juice and proceeds to the next step. I'm not real sure yet what that is, this will be my first time having the opportunity to make it with him. I'm looking forward to it. Thanks again Charles!

Frank

No problem. I'm sure some others will chime in with different or better advice... I haven't been at this as long as some folks who post here

In regards to doing it "the old fashioned way" I personally like the safety of cultured yeasts, but there are certainly some convincing arguments for wild yeasts.

Things such as pH/acid testing, checking brix, etc are all things that are certainly helpful in making better wine, however I'm sure your father has a well developed sense of taste that helps him do this. I suppose it comes down to how satisfied your father is with his wine...

Frank-I think it's OK to crush the grapes with foot power...I did it that way for years. But, at a minimum I think he should drop by the homebrew shop and by some cultured wine yeast. The shop keepers should be able to help him decide on a yeast for the type grapes you are working with. Unless you live in a famous winemaking region the local yeasts may not be up to the job of completing fermentation and _ why_ take a chance on ruining your wine.

Here's a great resource for all types of winemaking -

And here's a bonus. Lum is one of the resident experts on rec.crafts.winemaking. You can post a question about anything associated with winemaking and he will give you an answer. Not to single out Lum...there are many who post here on r.c.w. that are very willing to help out.

Bill Frazier Olathe, Kansas

My father probably made wine the same way as your father. He would light a small piece of sulfur and hang it on a metal wire inside the oak barrel. I still remember the choking smell. He would do this a day before adding wine to the barrel and after washing the barrel. He was also concerned with cleanliness with all his supplies and wine bottles, always washing and rewashing with very hot water. He made great wine too. I'm still drinking some of his '96 wine which has held up well. The Brix on the wine he made was around 23 degrees.

Assuming that this is a new barrel, it doesn't require sterilizing. Fill it with cold water to check for leaks, dump the water when it stops leaking and fill it with wine immediately. Buy a silicone bung for the barrel. Don't use a wooden bung. They tend to crack the bung stave, and they don't seal as well.

It's very important to (a) keep the sulfite level of the wine at the correct level, and (b) keep the barrel topped up. I recommend weekly tasting, sniffing and topping to assure quality. Over time, the wine evaporates through the staves causing the level in the barrel to drop. Also, the free SO2 in the wine will slowly drop as the sulfite becomes oxidized to sulfate. It's not unusual to have to add sulfite a couple of times per year.

Tom S