Result of using bourbon barrel

[winemaker81]

you're 1000% correct tho. Barrels are sexy. They have an unmistakable presence and air about them. Very rustic and authentic. They scream, "that's one badass winemaker"

My elder son is managing our third barrel. He gets a kick out of the reactions when friends see a 54 liter (14.25 US gallon) barrel. I suspect most of us have an "entertaining" reaction from friends and acquaintances when they see a 19 liter carboy, much less a larger container.

 

[David Violante]

So I’ve had two barrels since Christmas, a 5-gallon and a 10-gallon.

The larger one was a bourbon barrel, charred, and the smaller one was not previously used but also charred inside as part of their ‘sealing process’. I tried knocking out as much char as possible with a few handfuls of stainless nuts, used barrel fresh, steamed them, rinsed, and let them sit in a holding solution.

The large one ultimately leaked from one of the heads. The company replaced it with a newer one that’s so far doing quite well. The smaller one leaked from a stave and while waiting for a new one I decided to try and seal the leaks with melted beeswax.

After a while of keeping the holding solution, I rinsed the smaller one and filled it with a caramel wine I had made that was in a glass carboy for a few months and racked once. I added SO2 and let it sit. The wine kept seeping out around the bung to which I thought was from expansion perhaps until they both came to an equal temperature? Nope. Yesterday I pulled the bung (a vented silicone variety) and heard active fermentation. So I put on a bubbler variety and sure enough… fermentation. I didn’t use sorbate, and thought it had been done, I guess not. I have a bottle of topping wine for it that didn’t fit in the barrel, and it’s sitting there doing nothing. It has a silicone unvented stopper that is still in place and under no pressure.

Still trying to figure out why it restarted. I mean, I know why, fuel, air, spark… I guess there was just enough residual sugar and favorable conditions…

 

[winemaker81]

Still trying to figure out why it restarted. I mean, I know why, fuel, air, spark… I guess there was just enough residual sugar and favorable conditions…

I had that happen with a second run wine -- SG hit 1.000 and stopped. Added new starter with EC-1118 and a bit more nutrient, no change. I've had a few ferments stop in the 1.000 to 1.002 range before, so I assume this one just quit.

A month later I put it in barrel. Two months later I found the bung had popped. First barrel I owned, so I had no clue. Put the bung back in, and next morning it was blown again. I stirred it, could smell fermentation, so I put a towel over the top and gave it a week to finish. Stirred again, and put the bung back in.

Nope, absolutely no clue why it finished fermentation. It wasn't temperature, as the wine went into barrel in the coldest part of the year; cellar temperature was 58 F. I figure Mother Nature and Dionysus were just messing with me.

 

[tjmeyer]

I had that happen with a second run wine -- SG hit 1.000 and stopped. Added new starter with EC-1118 and a bit more nutrient, no change. I've had a few ferments stop in the 1.000 to 1.002 range before, so I assume this one just quit.

A month later I put it in barrel. Two months later I found the bung had popped. First barrel I owned, so I had no clue. Put the bung back in, and next morning it was blown again. I stirred it, could smell fermentation, so I put a towel over the top and gave it a week to finish. Stirred again, and put the bung back in.

Nope, absolutely no clue why it finished fermentation. It wasn't temperature, as the wine went into barrel in the coldest part of the year; cellar temperature was 58 F. I figure Mother Nature and Dionysus were just messing with me.

Mixed in oxygen during rack?

 

[winemaker81]

Mixed in oxygen during rack?

The ferment didn't kick in until several months in the barrel, so that seems unlikely. If it had taken off immediately, I'd have assumed that was it.

 

[David Violante]

I stirred it, could smell I figure Mother Nature and Dionysus were just messing with me.

Well, it seems like a good thing to have Dionysus hanging around your wine cellar! It’s getting close to filling the large barrel… I hope he has a good sense of humor.

 

[wood1954]

Updating my original observation. I recently bottled the bourbon barrel wine. It now tastes very good, I sterile filtered it and added a bit of sugar. I can taste bourbon a little bit but also a little vanilla, another year it should be very good.

 

[wood1954]

Update, I filled the barrel with water today and within an hour it stopped leaking. Very happy about that. Tomorrow I’ll sulfite until I need it in September.