Thanks Charles! I'll pass that on. He's got a batch of grapes he's
smashing right now. He also asked me this morning to ask if you
(anyone) has any advice on making wine the old fashioned way. He
doesn't add any yeast or anything up front - just pick the grapes and
remove them from the vine, smash em, and let em ferment for a week.
Then he strains the juice and proceeds to the next step. I'm not real
sure yet what that is, this will be my first time having the
opportunity to make it with him. I'm looking forward to it. Thanks
again Charles!

Frank

On Fri, 24 Oct 2003 09:25:42 -0400, Charles H
wrote:

Francis Bell wrote:

I'm posting this quesiton for my father (who makes some pretty darn
good wine in my opinion!) He's trying an oak barrel this time around,
and he is trying to find out how best to sterilize the barrel. He
thinks if he uses the usual sterilizers, there will be an aftertaste
left in the wood. Any suggestions? Thanks!

You can't sterilize a barrel... if the barrel is of sound history and
smells alright, it will need to be swelled with water before use. This
is all that needs to be done if it's a new barrel.

If it's a used _wine_ barrel, it's advaisable to fill it with a citric
acid & sulfite solution prior to use. Anything else and you risk ruining
the barrel. However, if your father knows the barrel's history and it
doesn't smell like vinegar on the inside, I would wager a simply
swelling would be fine... most sterilization treatements are pretty
harsh on the wood we pay so much for, so I advocate the gentlest of
treatements for barrels.