Barrel Newbie...Help Needed!!

[BI81]

Next harvest will be my third vintage making wine from grapes and after reading through countless threads from guys like @NorCal and @Johnd it seems that making the move to a barrel is crucial in producing a top quality wine, so I''m biting the bullet and planning on a 30 gal barrel for my Bordeaux blend next year.

Based on the advice from other threads, I'm planning for approx 6-7 months of barrel time for the cab sauv followed by 5-6 months of barrel time for the merlot.

Other than that I'm basically starting from scratch as far as barrel aging goes and have several questions to iron out before moving forward.

- What is your preferred method of storing barrels and how do you move them for racking/cleaning/bottling/etc? I'm thinking of building a dolly with casters and some wooden chocks, but would like to see pictures of your set ups for inspiration
- How do you clean your barrels between racking/transfers? (slosh and dump hot water, steam, barrel cleaning wand, etc.)
- How long can you dry store a new barrel before filling? Is there a reason to wait to order the barrel, or can I order now and store dry in the house until it's ready to fill
- Who have you ordered from and what is your vendor of choice? I'm located in Southern California in the LA area, and am looking for French Oak
- Do you typically allow MLF to occur in barrel or wait for completion before transferring for aging?
- Is inert gas purging necessary, or is being diligent with SO2 and top-ups adequate? Any pics, details of your gas setup will be greatly appreciated
- What do you use for top ups? I'm interested in a Corny keg set up similar to this https://morewinemaking.com/products/cornelius-keg-barrel-top-system.html but would like to find a more cost effective method if available.

As always thanks in advance for any advice, this forum has helped me out tremendously through my growing addiction to winemaking!

 

[NorCal]

Questions answered in order.

- I bought $15 furniture dollies from Harbor Freight and added wooden wedges to hold the barrel in place.
- I made my own wand out of PVC pipe with holes drilled on the end cap. When attached to the hose and put into the barrel, it gets good coverage inside the barrel
- I'd wait until you are a few months away from putting wine in the barrel. They use sulfur gas and it has a pretty short half life.
- I've ordered from a distributor out of Napa, shipping would be excessive to get it down south. Look for a distributor in SoCal
- I do MLF in barrel
- I top every 3 weeks, check SO2 every 8-12 weeks.
- When I make a barrel, I'll but 1,000 pounds and I'll get 60 gallons for the barrel and an extra 5 gallons (carboy) of wine. I'll use that carboy for topping or prior year if I want to steer the path of the wine; I have a few donor cases of 50% Petite Sirah / Petit Verdot for topping when I feel the wine needs a little something extra.

Be very watchful of the 30 gallon barrel and over oaking. The surface area / volume is higher than a 60 gallon barrel. Good luck and it is not that you cannot make excellent wine in carboys and other containers, but the micro-ox and flavor concentration from a barrel add an element to the wine that is hard replicate without a barrel.

 

[Johnd]

My answers in order:

I build individual oak racks for my barrels with casters on the bottom, they’re easily rolled around the wine room as needed, though I don’t have to move them much. I’m not home, but will post a pic for you on Sunday.

I clean my barrels with hot water soaking, followed by a cold water rinse, then a light pressure washing of the interior. They’re stored, if needed, with a sulfite / citric acid solution.

it’s best to fill your barrel soon after receiving it, they can dry out and the staves / heads can separate and cause pesky leaks. Mine are ordered to coincide roughly with when I plan to fill them.

My last two barrels have come from Alain Fouquet, I’ve been extremely pleased with both the product and service. I have them delivered from Napa to south Louisiana. PM me if you’d like their info, they do have a website.

My wines are coinoculated and complete MLF and a couple of rankings prior to being barreled, they’re usually quite clear when it’s time to load.

no gas purging is done with my barrels, they are topped and sulfite adjusted every month or 6 weeks. After the barrel is loaded, I’ll bottle up a couple cases of the same wine to use for topping. They usually gobble up a bottle a month.

Happy barrel aging, it’ll change you game!!

 

[BI81]

Thanks @NorCal and @Johnd I'm glad to hear that top-ups are adequate, that makes one less item to purchase!!

I'll stick with carboys as well, although I do like John's method of bottling so that you don't have to break down a carboy at each top-up. That may be the way to go seeing as I'll more than likely let MLF finish prior to barreling, in order to extend the timeline and ensure I make it to next season in barrel w/out over-oaking. I've never used co-inoculation, but after reading the praise from several of you all I think I may give it a shot this year as well.

I'll definitely hold off on ordering and schedule shipment closer to filling, thanks for the pointer!

John I attempted to send you a PM, but I'm not sure that I did it correctly?? Still trying to figure this forum out.

NorCal if you don't mind sending the name of your distributor it may be worth a phone call and checking pricing, surprisingly I haven't had great luck locating anyone local as of yet. If anyone else in SoCal has a distributor they use, I'd appreciate the contact info.

Thanks again for all of your help, this forum is a huge help!!

 

[Johnd]

John I attempted to send you a PM, but I'm not sure that I did it correctly?? Still trying to figure this forum out.

Your PM came through just fine, my response should be in your box.

 

[NorCal]

Thanks @NorCal and @Johnd I'm glad to hear that top-ups are adequate, that makes one less item to purchase!!

I'll stick with carboys as well, although I do like John's method of bottling so that you don't have to break down a carboy at each top-up. That may be the way to go seeing as I'll more than likely let MLF finish prior to barreling, in order to extend the timeline and ensure I make it to next season in barrel w/out over-oaking. I've never used co-inoculation, but after reading the praise from several of you all I think I may give it a shot this year as well.

I'll definitely hold off on ordering and schedule shipment closer to filling, thanks for the pointer!

John I attempted to send you a PM, but I'm not sure that I did it correctly?? Still trying to figure this forum out.

NorCal if you don't mind sending the name of your distributor it may be worth a phone call and checking pricing, surprisingly I haven't had great luck locating anyone local as of yet. If anyone else in SoCal has a distributor they use, I'd appreciate the contact info.

Thanks again for all of your help, this forum is a huge help!!

I've done mlf during AF and post. I will rack when MLF is completed and for me that is always in the barrel, whether I did co-inoculation or not. It might change the timing of the rack; November vs. January, but I have never had MLF complete before I needed to put it in the barrel. @BI81 Here is the distributor that we use up here in NorCal; Cooerages 1912

 

[Johnd]

@BI81 , sorry this took so long, but here are a couple shots of the mobile stand under the 60 gallon barrel. It’s made of 2” x 4” red oak, and 4 each 275# rated casters. Easy to move, solid as a rock.