Vadai 23L Hungarian barrel - help convincing the wife

[geek]

Well, a barrel, again, is ticking in my head. I had this in mind at the end of last year but then the Flex Tank got in the way.

I can probably get this at a good price, just convincing her is the point of yet another expense in my wine 'toys' arsenal.

-worth the money, time and effort first to prep it to stop any leaking
-smoothing the wine, is there a ballpark comparison (time wise) where someone can say the wine will be MUCH better, silky, smooth, etc compared to aging in glass carboy. For example, if a wine in a glass carboy may take over 12 months to come around, how long the same wine aged some time in a barrel would come around smooth.
-micro-oxidation means depletion of SO2 at a fast rate (specially for smaller barrels), this would mean another means to check SO2 levels, another 'toy'
-I make wine from kits and from fresh grapes. All my wines go through MLF with the exception of the kits obviously, so do I then need 2 barrels?
I can always use my glass carboys to cycle mlf and kit wines since you can really rinse well and sulfite the glass, but wood barrel is porous and assume you do NOT want to put non-MLF wines in a barrel if you're putting your MLF wines through it.

Maybe preaching to the choir...... but looking to put all my docks in a row.
I guess I need to have ALL the pros when using a barrel.....

 

[ibglowin]

No Kit wines in a barrel that has had MLB. Just asking for trouble if you mix.

 

[geek]

right, so again I would need 2 barrels....

Or maybe start with 1 and see how much I like it......

 

[ibglowin]

You can always run a few kits through the barrel to break it in before you put in a wine made from fresh grapes that has undergone MLF. After that though it should only be wines from fresh grapes. Wood is porous and MLB loves all the cracks and crevices to grow in and survive…..

 

[Enologo]

I just bottled the first wine that I've run through the barrel and I think it's probably my best to date. Already contemplating a second barrel.

 

[geek]

Was going to pickup a barrel today but weather got in the way....

 

[geek]

I think am picking up a barrel this weekend
If I do, I have an MM Renaissance Amarone that recently finished fermentation and in the clearing stage now.

 

[sour_grapes]

Don't forget you need a few batches lined up to cycle through a new barrel! (Or waste the barrelly goodness on water.... )

 

[geek]

yeah, thinking about that too....

 

[ColemanM]

You can also start the barrel out with a Chardonnay fermentation. I did that with mine and it turned out pretty good.

 

[Boatboy24]

Good comments from @sour_grapes and @ColemanM . When you're ready to start aging kits, have at least two kits cleared and ready and a third started. I did a barrel fermented Chardonnay with my 2nd Vadai and am glad I did. I'll do that with my next one as well. Here's a rough schedule for aging in a 23 liter. Note that it is dependent on the wine and your personal taste for oak. Taste as you go and rack when you think the oak is just a little more than you want - it'll fall back over time.

First kit: 3-5 weeks
2nd Kit: 6-8 weeks
3rd kit: 10-12 weeks
4th kit and beyond: 12 weeks.

 

[geek]

You can also start the barrel out with a Chardonnay fermentation. I did that with mine and it turned out pretty good.

Good idea, but I don't have any Chardonnay now, only expecting my Trio Blanca kit (chard, chenin blanc and muscat blend) next month...

Did you put that chard through mlf?

I am doing the math for the barrel, had for plans in picking it up tomorrow, but here's the thing:
I wanted to first cycle 2 kits (non-mlf) first and then can use for my mlf wines.
The issue is I only have 1 Amarone from kit made recently, if I put that in then no whites will go in the barrel (I don't want a chard rose.... ) and also my understanding is that the first wine needs to come out soon, by then I would only have my current fresh grapes wine (mlf), after this would only be for mlf-wines....

 

[geek]

@BoatBoy24
Jim, did you put that Chard through MLF? Was it from juice bucket or grapes?
Or was it a kit (no mlf) ?

 

[Boatboy24]

It was a MM Renaissance Aussie Chard. No MLF.

 

[geek]

Ok, so to be clear....barrel fermented is that you started the kit and pitched yeast right in the barrel instead of a plastic fermenter? If so, weren't you worry about sediments in the barrel?

Thanks for the clarification.

 

[Boatboy24]

Pretty much, yes. I mixed it up in my primary bucket first, then racked into the barrel. I put about 2/3 of a gallon in a gallon jug (wanted to leave a little headspace in the barrel. Hydrated the yeast, then pitched most into the barrel, with the remainder into the jug. I combined the two in secondary. Wasn't too worried about sediment. I just made sure to rinse very well.

 

[geek]

Thanks...

I think I may be better off waiting until Spring to have more stuff available then....

 

[PhilDarby]

The easy way to convince her if she drinks wine ofc, is to give her the first few bottles to try, the rest is easy then ;-)

 

[geek]

@BoatBoy24

Oh Jim, forgot to ask, once you barrel fermented, did you then continue to barrel that Chardonnay for a few weeks or not?

 

[ColemanM]

Wow, a lot happens when I don't check in to a thread for an hour my Chardonnay was a world vineyard chard. I did leave it in for about 7 days then racked with the rest of the 6 gallons into a glass carboy. You just have a little more work rinsing it out the first time with the sediment, but it's just yeast. I wouldn't put the trio in the barrel. Doesn't sound like a good oak candidate.