Seeping barrel

[Garagista]

I racked Petitie Syrah to a repurposed oak barrel. After barrel prep and a 3 day water fill, there were no leaks. After filling with wine, of course it leaked some. Wine is thinner and alcohol is a solvent so this was not unexpected. I hammered in some spiles and it stopped leaking. It has been 3 days now and the stains have not grown.

My question is whether I should be concerned about the stains that remain. It could continue to seep.

 

[ibglowin]

I would hit it with some KMETA spray and dab it dry so you might be able to see if its stopped leaking. If it continues a little bit of wax on the areas that continue to leak should help to seal it up. They make a barrel wax if you can find it but I have used canning wax and it worked just fine and you can find it usually at the grocery or hardware store.

 

[BarrelMonkey]

If it's stopped leaking you should be good. As @ibglowin said, it wouldn't hurt to spray/wipe with some k-meta to dissuade anything from growing there, but the former leak shouldn't affect your wine. I think you'll see many cases like this in most commercial wineries.

 

[VinesnBines]

I have a barrel that was leaking terribly. Wax seems to have stopped the leak. Kmeta, sanitizer strength, will remove the stains. Dry it well and use touch, sight and a dry paper towel to check for leaks. A clean, white paper towel will show you if it is still leaking.

 

[Garagista]

I have a barrel that was leaking terribly. Wax seems to have stopped the leak. Kmeta, sanitizer strength, will remove the stains. Dry it well and use touch, soght and a dry paper towel to check for leaks. A clean, white paper towel will show you if it is still leaking.

Thanks. I think the leaks have been stopped but it’s hard to tell with all the staining. It’s Petite Syrah which doesn’t help - it’s like black ink. I will spray with strong SO2.

 

[ibglowin]

KMETA is pretty good at removing wine stains but oxyclean will wipe them out almost instantly. If you go that route I would rinse off with some clean water after the stain has been neutralized.

 

[winemaker81]

KMETA is pretty good at removing wine stains but oxyclean will wipe them out almost instantly. If you go that route I would rinse off with some clean water after the stain has been neutralized.

I clean my barrels with Barrel Oxyfresh and it does the same -- makes the barrels look almost new. I let a bit overflow the barrel and wash down the sides. That takes a bit longer, but not much.