gene wrote:

> 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?

Yes

>
> 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.

If it works well for you then I would continue.

I think the water heater of most home wine makers
would not have water in that temperature range.

>
> 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.

Not the one I worked at.

>
> Are they noticeably shortening the useful
> oak-enhancing lifetime of the barrel when they
> do that cleaning?

Probably so but I am no expert.

>
> Gene