Practical Barrel Use & Maintenance DREW HORTON - Enology Specialist UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA GRAPE BREEDING & ENOLOGY PROJECT
A Brief History of Barrels For millennia wine was stored in animal skins and ceramic containers like Greek era Amphorae, heavy, hard to transport, and easy to break
A Brief History of Barrels Barrels invented around 3,000 BCE, Greek historian Herodotus recorded barrels of wine imported from Armenia First made from Palm wood Difficult to work and bend Palm wood barrels were heavy Palm wood barrels were long and narrow
Improved barrels from Oak Around 350 BCE, the Celts most likely originated European oak barrel production Oak is much easier to cut, to split, to saw, to shape and work More flexible, easier to bend and form Widely available Oak is very strong & water-tight Oak has very fine and tight grain when grown in colder climates
Barrel Pros and Cons PRO: Add Complexity Add Texture, softens Add Flavor(s) Add Aroma(s) Reduce tartness Marketing appeal Invokes Tradition CON: Expensive Wine loss/evaporation Takes up space Need special tools/eqt. Extra effort/work/time Need to be replaced Takes extra time to mature, carry inventory
Types of Oak for Barrels: Europe: Quercus petrea & Quercus robur USA: Quercus alba French oak Most popular. From specific forests: Vosges, Alliers, Troncais, Limousin, Nevers, Centre de France, etc Hungarian/Eastern European - Zemplen Forest American - Minnesota, Missouri, Kentucky, etc.
Flavor/Aroma Comparison French: Sweeter, subtle and lighter, more vanilla, brown sugar, caramel, light wood smoke American: Heavier, resinous, coconut, piney, dillpickle, heavy wood smoke, tar Hungarian: In between, not as sweet as French, not as heavy as American, rich and complex
A Local Favorite Hybrids Relatively new to the market are the so-called hybrid barrels which are made from multiple types of oak Many MN winemakers use barrels with French oak head-wood and MN oak staves $$$ - Cheaper than French, more than pure American
Barrel Anatomy & Terms
Types and Sizes of Barrels In general there are two traditional styles or shapes, one from Burgundy and one from Bordeaux Burgundy are 228 liters, Bordeaux are 225 liters There are 110 liter half-barrels, and 500 to 600 liter puncheons, and even very large upright or oval casks up to 2500 liters or more
Buying Barrels You can buy new or you can buy used barrels If you buy used barrels, white wine barrels are preferred over red wine barrels, usually cleaner French barrels: $900 to $1500.plus American barrels: $450 to $600 Hungarian and Hybrid barrels: $600 to $900
Barrel Toasting Light, Medium, Medium +, Heavy You can specify the toast level of the barrels you order Intuitively, heavier toasts give darker flavors: Cocoa, coffee, heavy wood smoke strong While lighter toasts give lighter flavors: light caramel, sweet spices, light vanilla subtle Usually the heads are left un-toasted, but you can specify toasted heads or TH Most American oak barrels come with toasted heads
Barrel toasting with fire slow heating not the same as charring
Charring, actually burns the wood primarily used in making whisky barrels
Some Cooper Codes TH Toasted Heads H-Heavy Toast, M-Medium Toast MLT-Medium long toast, M+-Medium plus toast 3 YR 3 year air dried staves A-Allier, V-Vosges, etc. AO-American Oak, FO-French oak
Barrel cost over time Assume 300 bottles per barrel Assume a $1200 fine French barrel If you use the barrel to age wine for a year, and use it over a five-year period, the cost of the barrel is $0.80 per bottle Ex: 300 bottles/year x 5 years = 1500 bottles $1200 divided by 1500 bottles is $0.80/bottle
Another example: Assume a $500 American oak barrel If you use a $500 barrel for 5 years, that can mature 1500 bottles over a 5-year period, (one year per vintage), the cost ends up being $0.33 per bottle, averaged over the five years.
Barrel Ageing; Flavor Decrease Approximations of flavor/aroma lifespan Hypothetical/approximate barrel-aging for one year 1 st year, 50% of flavor/aroma is absorbed by the wine 2 nd year, 30%... 3 rd year, 15%... 4 th year, 5%... By the 5 th year of fill, barrel flavors and aromas are more or less neutral Well maintained, barrels can last for many years
Preparing Barrels for Use The French Method When you receive a barrel you will need to treat it with water to soak it up and help it to swell and seal itself. Stand the barrel on its head and pour a few gallons of hot water onto the outside of the head, and a few gallons inside the barrel. This will cause the stave/head joint, aka the croze, and all other seams and joints to swell and tighten. After 20 minutes, turn the barrel over and repeat. After 20 minutes put barrel on a rack with bung-hole down and rinse the inside of the barrel with a spray-ball and arm. Let barrel drip dry for an hour and you are ready to fill.
Barrel Filling/Racking/Emptying Need to use a racking wand for filling and emptying barrels
Bulldog Nitrogen gas displacing
Barrel Washing & Rinsing
Barrel Cleaning and Pickling The best way to maintain a barrel is to keep it full of clean wine! Hot water wash, drip-dry/air dry for an hour or so be careful with pressure washers, Steam generator, 3-5 minutes at 40psi, melts tartrates, cool rinse after Ozone rinse/sanitize, after hot water rinse, 3 minutes Sodium Percarbonate soak (24-72 hours) and Citric acid rinse Acid/SO2 soak, pickling : 3 Lbs. Tartaric acid --- about ph 2.2 ½ Lb. KMBS --- about 500 ppm SO2 Mix in hot water in 60 gallon barrel, topped & bunged, 5 to 10 days
Storing Barrels; Sulfur disk/burner
SO2-gassed barrels in storage Re-hydrate and re-gas every month (Pleated paper cup keep pests out/allows breathing )
Barrel Leak Repair The Croze is the most likely place Use oak spiles or wedges
Stacking & Moving Barrels
Barrel Racks and use WRONG!
RIGHT!!!
Stacking & Moving Barrels With Pallet Jack or Forklift
Basic Barrel Safety Do not use broken, bent, or otherwise unsafe racks Barrels placed on racks should be of same type and shape, unless intending to be placed on the TOP of a stack, and if so, should be marked clearly as such. Barrels must be placed on rack evenly, with equal amounts of barrel-ends extending from rack in an equal manner. When placing a single barrel on a 2-barrel rack, it must be placed in the CENTER of the rack, not on just one side. Use proper safe-lifting techniques when moving barrels Only certified forklift operators should work with moving and/or stacking of barrels and racks
Oooops!
Why use barrels??? Add aromas and flavors Allow slow and steady micro-oxidation Help develop complexity and mouth-feel Allow extended lees contact, aka "Sur Lie" method, allowing extra wine contact with fermentation gross lees or postfermentation fine lees, helps promote autolysis Wine should be stirred to re-suspend lees regularly, weekly and wine monitored for aroma/flavor and textural development and possibility of H2S development during sur lie maturation period.
Barrel Topping and Maintenance Every 4 weeks is best Wine will evaporate during barrel maturation Barrels should be un-stacked, inspected, barrel exterior rinsed with hot water Area around bung should be scrubbed with 3g/L tartaric acid/water solution, then rinsed again Remove bung, observe surface, smell head-space Sample, check for FSO2, add if needed and stir Top with clean wine to bunghole-top Insert clean/sanitized bung and re-rinse all...
"Rack and Return" At times wine in barrel may become reduced, and needs some air ("fresh" vs "canned" fruit character) Gather all barrels of same lot, sample, taste and smell for faults, all good barrels get racked together into tank, (now the lot is homogenized for flavor/aroma) Clean empty barrels and drip dry, adjust barrel blend/mix of barrels if desired Check and add SO2 to wine if needed and mix Fill and bung cleaned barrels Save/preserve any excess wine for future topping
Barrels and perception of QUALITY There is no question that barrel-aged wines have more overall complexity, increased structure, enhanced flavors, aromas, and better ageing potential. Barrels are perceived as a mark of quality and sophistication. When customers see barrels in your winery, they are willing to pay a higher price for your wines. Barrels are sexy! They look good, smell great, and make many wines taste yummier!!!
Special thanks to the U of MN Grape Breeding & Enology Project
Thanks!!! Any Questions??? dhorton@umn.edu enology.umn.edu