Joe,

I have found my barrels add plenty of oak for about 3 years full of wine
although it depends on the size as well, the smaller the barrel the more
oak is leached out as the surface area to volume increases in smaller
barrels.

Once the oakiness begins to diminish and you have two possibilities
other than replacing the barrel: 1) Leave the wine in it for and extra
few months or even longer with each additional year, 2) Add oak chips, I
add oak chips to my red barrel and have done so for the last few vintages.

If you use oak chips buy the best, French oak chips are available at
many home winemaking shops. The only problem is getting them out but it
isn't a big deal, just takes an extra 10 or 15 minutes once a year.

My solution to empty barrels is to avoid leaving them empty for more
than a few days. I always rack my wine into carboys and/or bottle it
directly from the barrel when the next vintage is ready.

There is plenty on caring for empty barrels, just do a search on the
newsgroup.

Cheers,

Glen Duff
-----------------

Joe Ae wrote:

> Thanks for the suggestions! I have seen Watson's website so I will call and
> get more info.
>
> From the suggestions it sounds like the barrel will be empty for some times.
> It seems if you fill it with water/so2 you will lose oak flavor. If you
> leave it dry, the wood may dry out and leak problems could develop.
>
> What do you do with your oak barrels when they are not full of wine?
> How long can you expect a barrel to last?
>
> Joe
>
>
> "Glen Duff" > wrote in message
> ...
>
>>Joe,
>>
>>I have a 55 liter medium toast Hungarian barrel that I picked up from
>>Watson's (Kevin Watson) at Niagara-on-the-Lake. The price was
>>reasonable and it was beautifully made after the squat burgundian style.
>>
>>The second year of use was with my 02 Chardonnay which was just bottled
>>and it is a really promising Chardonnay with a nice oak level.
>>
>>I would highly recommend them.
>>
>>Glen Duff
>>
>>
>>Charles H wrote:
>>
>>
>>>Joe Ae wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>>I am finding very limited options in Niagara. A couple of suppliers
>>>>
> carry
>
>>>>French Oak 225L (990$C) ouch. Hungarian Oak Barrels. 60L ($399C) But I
>>>>found a supplier yesterday that says he can get Italian Oak Barrels.
>>>>
> 100L
>
>>>>for 300$C.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>Watson's <www.watsons.ca> has oak barrels listed from Hungary listed at
>>>$500 and $595 for a 'bordeaux'. I found a small 50L barrel at a local
>>>Portuguese store, the man claimed it was Portuguese oak(Quercus faginea)
>>>It has Chardonnay in it right now.
>>>
>>>My first barrel was a used American. I too, would recommend new Oak,
>>>even in a smaller 100L barrel... I think that would be a better value
>>>oak wise anyway. HTH
>>>
>>>N.B. I don't work for Watson's
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>
>