# When to barrel taste on a new barrel



## LtCellars (Oct 22, 2011)

I have a Sangiovese in two 5 gallon barrels. One is on it's second vintage, while the other is new as of the first week in September. I transferred from a neutral barrel to this new one at which time I sulfided as well. 
When would be a good time to pull the bung and sample and to top up on the new barrel?
Thank you.
Steve


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## sailavie (Oct 24, 2011)

Steve - I view the following as one of the better guides for the use of oak barrels. The key thing to note - it depends on the type of oak and for new barrels you should taste often. For new barrels I would check to make sure it's topped up and there are no leaks on a weekly basis, and I would sample every 3-4 weeks. I don't use oak barrels at this point but any wine that I have aging I check on it weekly. It only takes a few minutes - unless I have a glass or 2 while I'm checking 

http://morebeer.com/public/pdf/wbarrel.pdf

Dan


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## ibglowin (Oct 24, 2011)

I have 2 23L Vadai's. I would taste every 2 weeks for a new barrel. First few batches should probably only be in 2-4 weeks max. The oak level on these wines will fall back after a few months so you can actually reroute back through a second time down the road if it settles back too for.


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## robie (Oct 24, 2011)

LtCellars said:


> I have a Sangiovese in two 5 gallon barrels. One is on it's second vintage, while the other is new as of the first week in September. I transferred from a neutral barrel to this new one at which time I sulfided as well.
> When would be a good time to pull the bung and sample and to top up on the new barrel?
> Thank you.
> Steve





I would top-off any barrel weekly. You can get by topping off every two weeks. I live in a dry climate and my 6 gallon barrel is kept at a temperature of 66F to 68F. I have to top-off between 5 and 8 ounces each week.

Until you get experienced with using a barrel and start getting a feel for how things happen, I would taste test on 1/4th cycle intervals. Ex: If first cycle is 2 weeks, I would taste test every 3 or 4 days. If 2nd cycle is 4 weeks, I would taste test weekly. That might be overkill, but you will start getting your own feel for it. A new barrel can over oak very quickly.


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## LtCellars (Oct 25, 2011)

Thanks for the comments.
I was a little worried of exposing the wine to too much oxygen removing the bung that often, but I will taste and top up later this week.
Thakns again,
Steve


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