Paul E. Lehmann wrote:
> Joe Sallustio wrote:
>
>>> I've got a wine in there now that isn't too
>>> bad. Lots of tannin, no
>>> off flavors, looks clear and clean. Tastes
>>> like it will age very well.
>>>
>>> The barrel has never been empty after the first
>>> batch. I've been pretty of top of sulfite,
>>> needs a little now but close to bottling, I'll
>>> do it then.
>>>
>>> Thanks for your comments, I think I'm in good
>>> shape. My fourth wine
>>> will go in next week. How long to barrels
>>> last? This is a small
>>> barrel, I might need to add chips. If so, is
>>> the hassle of barrel
>>> aging worth it? Carbouys are pretty easy!
>>>
>>> Dan
>> It all depends on what you want to get out to
>> the barrel aging. You probably don't get much
>> in the way of oak flavor after 2 to 3 years
>> but that isn't the only things barrels do.
>> There are theories about micro oxygenation which
>> helps reds; more than that you can get some
>> concentration of flavors and that is rarely a
>> bad thing. A barrels
>> life is technically as long as you are willing
>> to deal with it. You can add chips or beans to
>> get the oak flavors once that peters out, or
>> leave it in longer. It's not the same but it's
>> all relative to a point; if you put mediocre
>> wine into a big money French barrel what
>> you will get is mediocre wine with French oak
>> notes. If you put great wine into a poorly
>> built or maintained barrel you will ruin it.
>> Barrels are work but if they weren't worth it no
>> one would put up with them, they are one step
>> below corks on the winemakers aggravation
>> spectrum...
>>
>> Carboys are easy, agreed. I only have one
>> barrel and it's not much to
>> talk about. It was badly made; never toasted.
>> Don't EVER put good wine in an un-toasted
>> barrel; I'm still recovering from that fiasco.
>> It's full of sulfited acidulated water now. I
>> may give it one more shot on a second wine I
>> made or may use it for a sherry from French
>> Colombard.
>>
>> Joe
>
> The only thing I would add from Joe's advice is
> that if you want to extend the life of a barrel,
> consider putting "clean" wine into the barrel.
>
> I do not barrel my wine until around May. By that
> time most of the tartrates will have already
> precipitated out in the carboys (providing you
> have a cool cellar or equivalent).
>
> Tartarates from "new" wine coat the inside of the
> barrel and do not afford the wine a chance to
> come into contact with the oak.

Hmmmm... and I thought the early oak contact was advantageous to sooner
aging. By waiting until spring for first oak contact, doesn't that mean
you've added another 6 months to the aging protocol to account for the
'oak integration' time?

What about removing the deposited tartrates in the spring after the cold
stabilization is complete?
You can rack the wine to another container, rinse the barrel to remove
settled lees and 'loose tartrates', then fill it with 130F-160F hot
water, soak for 15 minutes or so, followed by a good rinsing with cold
water. Let the barrel drip dry, then refill it with sulfite-adjusted
wine. The hot water short-soak seems to dissolve the precipitated
tartrates coating pretty well for me.

How much of the barrel oakiness do I lose each time I do the hot water
soak cleaning cycle? Commercial wineries do a hot water spray cleaning
of the inside of the barrels at each racking. Are they noticeably
shortening the useful oak-enhancing lifetime of the barrel when they do
that cleaning?

Gene