Wine barrel lifetime costs

[dcbrown73]

I can't compare to a flex tank, as I don't have one.

My barrels are all 23L. They are pretty easy to maintain, as long as you keep them full. When I rack a wine out of a barrel, the barrel gets a hot water rinse, then the next wine goes in. Easy, peasy.

Do you soak it in k-meta solution or anything like that? (pre-first use, or between usage?)

Obviously, I can't have a barrel until I purchase a new house (between houses now)

 

[AZMDTed]

I agree with Jim, no problem at all. Only difference for me is that after rinsing I will add a Kmeta/Citric Acid solution and let it sit for a few minutes, then rinse again. Once you get a new barrel broken in and any leaks sealed, just keep producing enough wine to always have wine in them and they are no harder than dealing with carboys. Just top up every two weeks as a new barrels will eat wine. Then add a 1/4 tsp of kmeta a month.

 

[ibglowin]

I have 4 23L Vadai's

Started with just one LOL

After the last one was well neutral I did a good old fashioned barrel deep sanitization on all of them with a mixture of citric acid and sulfite. Let stand for a week, drain, rinse well, and they were back to good as new condition with the exception of all those stains and being neutral!

 

[dcbrown73]

Thanks guys!

 

[Boatboy24]

I have 4 23L Vadai's

Started with just one LOL

After the last one was well neutral I did a good old fashioned barrel deep sanitization on all of them with a mixture of citric acid and sulfite. Let stand for a week, drain, rinse well, and they were back to good as new condition with the exception of all those stains and being neutral!

I just did that with two of mine and will be doing it on the 3rd when the next wine comes out. The winery where I get my grapes offers a power washing service that I may take advantage of at some point.

 

[ibglowin]

If they offered a genuine "steam cleaning" I would be all over that "like white on rice" as they say.

I just used a hose end sprayer set to a high tight spray and blasted mine as best I could.

The winery where I get my grapes offers a power washing service that I may take advantage of at some point.

 

[marino]

Mike, what are the proportions of citric acid to sulfite for this deep cleaning? I have wanted to do mine but never found the right answer for this.

 

[Boatboy24]

Mike, what are the proportions of citric acid to sulfite for this deep cleaning? I have wanted to do mine but never found the right answer for this.

My oldest barrel is empty of wine right now, so I have it filled with a solution. What I read in the MoreWine manual is 1g of Citric acid and 2g of KMETA per liter.

 

[ibglowin]

I used this recipe and scaled it up for 6G:

Potassium Metabisulfite and Citric Acid – We often recommend this method to our customers. It creates a cost-effective sanitizing rinse, meaning no additional rinsing with clean water. Potassium metabisulfate has a strong odor and those allergic to sulfites may be aggravated by its potency. Measure carefully. In a gallon of water, add 2 teaspoons of potassium metabisulfite and 1 tablespoon of citric acid.

Mike, what are the proportions of citric acid to sulfite for this deep cleaning? I have wanted to do mine but never found the right answer for this.

 

[sdelli]

Maybe because I am very particular on the taste of my expensive wine. But I actually find that when a barrel get's too old even oak spirals or cubes cannot stop the off taste of an old barrel taste getting into the wine..... Time to retire!

 

[marino]

This is interesting. How old is an old barrel? What does it taste like? I've only had my small Vadais for 3 years, but am really curious

 

[sdelli]

I noticed this in many different types of barrels after they got over 3 years old. All were smaller from 6 to 15 gal. Always did cubes or stave infusion but nothing like the clean taste of a newer barrel.

 

[marino]

So, not "clean" ? Was the wood affected by moisture?

 

[sdelli]

Not really... Just got a bland off taste as they got old. Even did a cleaning on them.

 

[marino]

Hm.. I'll remain vigilant!

 

[4score]

My oldest barrel is empty of wine right now, so I have it filled with a solution. What I read in the MoreWine manual is 1g of Citric acid and 2g of KMETA per liter.

I've seen this rule of thumb before.

I like to see what SO2 PPM they are calling for with such a recipe (2g SO2 per liter). So, if you do the math for a 225 liter (60 gallon) barrel, you're adding 450 grams of SO2. Further, if you solve for PPM, you get something like 1130 PPM. Wow, that's a lot of SO2! I usually add enough citric acid to get the pH in the 3.5 neighborhood, then aim for 100 PPM SO2 or slightly higher. I figure that is is the ratio of the previous wine and why would it require more SO2 for storage than the wine provides? Of course, if you're talking about a quick rinse/clean, that is still a lot of SO2, but maybe ok?

 

[stickman]

I agree, 100 ppm is enough if the pH is low enough.