Howdy

[Marmik]

Hello everyone, this is Marmik here from Syd ney, Australia.
A relative novice when it comes to everything wine. But keen to learn about cellaring. I have a 700 bottle cellar at home which is virtually empty but hoping not for long.
I also have a 100 gallon port cask which is empty in the cellar. Don't know what I could do with it or how do I ensure it's worthy.
Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

Cheers
Marmik

 

[Rice_Guy]

Welcome to WMT

You are in a good place for wine quality. You have the AWRI down there.
It will be easy to fill you rack a case/ carboy at a time. Consider “age worthy” which usually means a red wine with some tannin. Also consider how to label so that it is easy to find the type you are looking for.

Barrel? I haven’t gotten that big yet.

 

[sour_grapes]

Welcome to the forum!

 

[Rocky]

Welcome to WMT, Marmik.

I like the use of tiles for wine storage. I have wondered if the tiles, and having slept through Thermodynamics, keep the wine at a more constant temperature. Any thoughts?

 

[sour_grapes]

Welcome to WMT, Marmik.

I like the use of tiles for wine storage. I have wondered if the tiles, and having slept through Thermodynamics, keep the wine at a more constant temperature. Any thoughts?

I believe that is the idea. At least a Frenchman told me once that is the reason "all the good" cellars in France use tiles.

 

[ibglowin]

Welcome aboard!

 

[Ohio Bob]

I believe the tiles would act like heat sinks, stabilizing the temperature. They would be worth keeping.

The barrel is a trickier issue. If you give it a quick rinse, what comes out? Mold, slime? Pitch it. If you’re really handy you can take it apart and try to refurbish it.

It looks the cellar is used for wine making as well as storage. Be aware that wine spills can lead to mold taking over. If it were mine I would get everything out of the cellar, seal all access to the outside to eliminate water issues, insects, etc. give a good painting with Killz. Then bring the tiles back in.

Are you going to be making wine or just buying/storing?

 

[winemaker81]

Welcome to WMT!

Regarding the barrel, if it's been empty for any period of time, it's iffy. @Ohio Bob's advice is spot on. Refurbing the barrel would be in interesting hobby.

Make a few 19 or 23 liter carboys of wine first, to get a feel for winemaking. Then consider that a 100 US gallon barrel contains twenty 19 liter carboys of wine, plus you'd need at least one more for topup. While we have a few members that make upwards to 200 US gallons of wine each year, most make far less.

 

[Jusatele]

Welcome to the forum.
I would do some simple smaller recipes till I got the process down to something predictable.
Your first few attempts are a learning curve, although they can come out real nice, they also can have a few problems and then you will have all that wine to either choke down or dump.
My first few attempts a rememberable because we choked them down but after 4 or 5 attempts we were making good wine.
Another thing is this hobby is a study in patience. Start small and grow with confidence as your chops get better.

 

[Jovimaple]

Welcome to WMT!

 

[Marmik]

Thank you everyone for the replies. I am indeed in a good place. I rinsed the barrel and nothing moldy came to be honest..it just smelt of sweet port. I think I saw that the barrel seems lined with something, cud be wrong though. Yeah So that is going to be a wait and watch. Thank you Ohio Bob. I was going to keep the cellar mainly for storing.
But had this big *** wooden thing in corner so figured I shud may do something with it.

On the cellaring piece, tannins I get, but how do I figure which wine to keep for how long. I personally prefer Italian wines, Malbec and a bit of Pinot noir.

 

[winemaker81]

On the cellaring piece, tannins I get, but how do I figure which wine to keep for how long. I personally prefer Italian wines, Malbec and a bit of Pinot noir.

It's a mixture of knowing the varietals, the wine making style, and experience. Longevity is affected by tannin, body, ABV, acid, sugar, and probably a few other things.

I agree with @Jusatele, for now focus on making a few small batches of decent wine. Understand the winemaking process before you start, and start simple. Kits are a great introduction to winemaking, and you can make good wine on the first try. Ask questions -- you'll get good answers, and it's FAR easier to point you to a good path than it is to fix a problem.

Your first few batches will be gone much quicker than you expect. Aging isn't likely to be a problem -- this is typical of all beginners, totally normal.

 

[Ohio Bob]

Thank you everyone for the replies. I am indeed in a good place. I rinsed the barrel and nothing moldy came to be honest..it just smelt of sweet port. I think I saw that the barrel seems lined with something, cud be wrong though. Yeah So that is going to be a wait and watch. Thank you Ohio Bob. I was going to keep the cellar mainly for storing.
But had this big *** wooden thing in corner so figured I shud may do something with it.

On the cellaring piece, tannins I get, but how do I figure which wine to keep for how long. I personally prefer Italian wines, Malbec and a bit of Pinot noir.

Two suggestions...

Don’t buy wines at your local grocery store. The majority of commercial wines are meant to be drunk rather quickly, not aged. Find a local wine shop and describe to them what you’re after. They will have a better knowledge. I’m guessing this is the more expensive approach.

Check out the Vivino app. Browse through the filter section. Typically high tannin wines require longer aging. Slide the slider to tannin equals high, then see what offerings they suggest. Could be hit or mis, but probably a cheaper approach than described above.