I agree. And the wineries use steam to create even more heat. It is a process they have to go through every time they get new barrels, but with a little steam, water and patience, they get through it. And by using lots of barrels, I am sure they get petty good at it over time.
New barrel
- Thread starter bpowell88
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Help Support Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum:
I agree. And the wineries use steam to create even more heat. It is a process they have to go through every time they get new barrels, but with a little steam, water and patience, they get through it. And by using lots of barrels, I am sure they get petty good at it over time.
Great news!
You should taste the wine in the barrel periodically, anyway. With a new barrel, I would taste it once a week. Leave the wine in the barrel until it just starts tasting too oaky, then rack the wine out and into a carboy. The amount of oak flavor tends to back off some in a few months.
Has it been out of the tub for 24 hours without a single drop leaking out? is every aspect of the outside of the barrel dry as a bone? If so then yes and 4 weeks is a good max time in the barrel depending on the wine type.
Boatboy24
No longer a newbie, but still clueless.
After the trouble you've had, i wouldnt hesitate to put a little KMeta in 6 gallons of water and let it sit for 5-7 days, just to be sure. I didn't have any leaks when I broke mine in a few weeks back, but still filled it and let it go for 6 days before any wine went into it. I'd rather leak water than wine! It may be a little much, but I wanted to be sure.
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Boatboy24
No longer a newbie, but still clueless.
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Boatboy24
No longer a newbie, but still clueless.
I think my MO going forward will be to siphon a bottle or two from the carboy when I start. Then siphon the rest into the barrel and top off by hand with the bottle(s). That's the disadvantage of the barrel - very hard to see when it's getting full.
I keep one of those small LED flashlights (actually a couple of them) in the winery. They are perfect for shining a light into the barrel opening so you can see just how close you are getting to the top of the barrel staves.
bpowell88
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Well loaded the barrel up yesterday and no leaks! Thanks all for the help and pointers... I was a little surprised though, my 6 gallon carboy fully filled the barrel, was a perfect fit. I had read that most barrels were slightly under 6 gallons so I was expecting to have a little extra.
I have four of them and they are all different. Some hold a little more, some a little less. If you have the 6G Italian ribbed glass carboys and they have been topped up full you should have anywhere from a full bottle left over to at least a split. Perfect for topping up with.
