Used Oak Barrel Question

[ibglowin]

One of the commercial wineries down in Albuquerque has some used French and American Oak Barrels for sale on Craiglist.

I am thinking abut picking up a couple of them for decoration around the entrance to the winery.

What would be an acceptable price?

He is asking 65 for the French and $50 for the American. He said they are no good for wine anymore as they have already been shaved.

Is this a deal or no deal?

Not sure which size they are but I am assuming they are full size (30 Gallon)

 

[AlFulchino]

it is *reasonable*

full size is bigger than 30 by the way

also, if they have a lot of them...i would have no problem at all walking up to them and saying 25 dollars...or wait a few days and see how slow the sales may be

if money is no issue and you just want to get the darn things and move on w your life then the price is as i said reasonable

you can also compare prices at http://www.winebusiness.com/usedbarrels/?ref=hn

 

[ibglowin]

What is full size then 50 gallon?

 

[AlFulchino]

i guess i have always thought of a full size barrel as 55-60...what size are the ones you are looking at?

 

[admiral]

Looks like most full size barrels come in...from 50 to 60 gallons. I guess it depends on the maker.

 

[Dean]

Full size is 225 Liters. Metric is much easier to work with

 

[ibglowin]

I agree! Its trying to convert from one system to the other that stinks!

I just got an email from him and they are full size 225 liters so I will see if I can get him down just a bit perhaps.

Full size is 225 Liters. Metric is much easier to work with

 

[vscottcolorado]

Mike:
I just pulled up the add on Craigslist. Do you know how many he has? I would be interested in 3-4, but I did not want to step on your toes. Can't buy anything around here for under $ 150

 

[ibglowin]

I am thinking he has a "fair" amount. Let me email him and find out. I am probably going to head down there tomorrow AM in my truck and pick up 2 for looks around the winery. The entrance is outside off our back patio. Will probably put some baskets on them this Summer.

I am 100% sure this is located at Anderson Valley Vineyards down in ABQ. He runs a small winery operation.

I was poking around on usedwinebarrels.com and they want $95 for a barrel picked up so these don't seem too overpriced if they are in good shape.

I will email him now and see how many he has.

 

[vscottcolorado]

let me know.. Have not been to ABQ for a while might make a weekend trip out of it.

 

[vscottcolorado]

Mike:
Do you know what he means when he says shaved?

 

[ibglowin]

They have been shaved on the inside of the barrel which extends the life. These would be no good for wine storage anymore.

 

[vscottcolorado]

Thats fine for 2 or 3 for a wine baron our lower level, but one of them I need to have stained on the inside for a piece of furniture I want to build

 

[vscottcolorado]

Hey Mike:
Did you get a reply back from the guy in ABQ?

 

[ibglowin]

We drove down to ABQ and will go take a look at them around 2:00pm. Still not sure how many he has or what condition they are in. Will report back later. Brought the truck so hoping to pick up a couple and make a Costco run as well.

 

[ibglowin]

Happy to say we were able to grab 2 of them!

We had our pick, the cream of the crop. No reason to pay any extra for French oak since they are nothing but window dressing!

The two I picked out actually still had wine (of sorts) from 1991-1992!

One came out yellow as in vinegar but the other came out a nice ruby red. The back of the truck smelled pretty amazing on the drive home.

Look at the quality of the oak on the end pieces, really nice! I need to get some water repellant/stain on these to keep them looking good out on the patio. I even got the bung!

Overall very happy and he has about 12 more left to get rid of.

 

[ibglowin]

Forgot to say I gave him $50 each and then ran like I stole something!

usedbarrels.com wanted $95 a piece for pick up at their place in Napa.

 

[vscottcolorado]

Mike:
I spoke to Max there yesterday by email. Said he had 5 American oaks left. Were they all pretty much equal in quality? Hate to drive to ABQ and find out they are held together with twine.

 

[ibglowin]

Wow, thats hard to believe. There were definitely some that were not so good. (very loose hoops) I would ask him what kind of condition the remaining ones are in (loose hoops etc) Does he have any French Oak that are in good shape? Would he let you have them for the same price?

Have you checked the local wineries in CS? Thats a pretty good drive for sure. If you do decide to come down let me know because his place is sorta hard to find and I can give you good directions so you won't get lost.

 

[vscottcolorado]

I have searched and called almost every winery here in the state. Found a couple of the west slope, (Grand Junction) but they wanted $150 ea. It's also about the same for me to go to ABQ as it is to drive to Grand Junction. I just emailed him back and ask him about the condition and about the frech oak as well. Told him I would take all 5 american if they were in good shape.