Tom S wrote:

> You guys are saying the same thing, but making it look like you're in
> disagreement! (Read below.)
>
> Tom S
>
> "Paul E. Lehmann" > wrote in message
> news
>> Ray wrote:
>>
>> > It is my understanding that oak barrels do more than add oak to wine.
> The
>> > breathing is very important to the overall effect. If you can only
> leave
>> > the wine in these barrels for a very short period of time, you would
>> > probably get the same effect from oak cubes and it would be cheaper.
>> >
>> > Ray
>>
>> This has not been my experience with a 10 gallon barrel. The wine is
>> MUCH
>> better from the barrel than with just oak cubes in a glass carboy. My
>> barrel is about 4 years old now and I cycle wine through every three
>> months. I check for full and top up every two weeks. It has never been
>> empty longer than what it takes to empty the barrel and bottle and
> re-fill.
>> It is just now getting to the point that I am not over oaking my wines.
>> When it is completely neutral, I may add a few oak cubes to the barrel
>> but even if I don't, I think several months in barrel makes a big
>> difference.

I think the question is whether a "short" amount of time in a small barrel
is enough to add beneficial results other than just oaking. I believe it
is. I would suggest, however, that anyone thinking about getting a small
barrel to get at least a 15 gallon size - and - have lots of wine
available so that you can cycle your aging wine through the barrel without
having a lot of time between fills so that the barrel is not empty for long
periods of time. This will help extract some of the oak over a period of
time so the wines will not be overly oaky.