And then there were 3

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Boatboy24

Boatboy24

No longer a newbie, but still clueless.
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Mrs. Boatboy approved the purchase requisition and Santa will be putting Vadai #3 under the Christmas tree. I called Vadai direct this time and spoke to Ruthy. What a pleasant, sweet lady.

I'll be breaking this one in with the WE LE Super Tuscan, followed by brief visits from the RJS LE Aglianico and Eclipse Forza. Then it'll go into the 'wine from grapes' production line. Didn't buy a stand for this one. I'm going to try and use my other stands as a template and take the DIY approach.
 
Congrats!

Those stands have gotten crazy expensive. Its almost like they want to hold the line on raising prices on the barrels but try and make up lost $$$ on the stand.

IIRC I paid like $19.99 for my first stand. I would seriously look at one of the Harbor Freight small dollies and just remove the rolling wheels if need be and replace with something else that wouldn't roll.

Boatboy24 said:
Didn't buy a stand for this one. I'm going to try and use my other stands as a template and take the DIY approach.
Click to expand...
 
BoatBoy I envy you. Last Christmas I asked Santa for a barrel, Mrs Santa went to the LHBS and they sold her a stainless sleive to put a oak spiral in. not even close if you ask me. I asked for a barrel again. If it's not under the tree this year I'll buy it myself. Bakervinyard
 
Congrats Jim. Three is a good number to have. I hope you have better luck with your third than I did mine. Still leaks a little.
 
ColemanM said:
Congrats Jim. Three is a good number to have. I hope you have better luck with your third than I did mine. Still leaks a little.
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I'm hoping that's user error. :D

My first two were as water tight as a frog's arse. :r
 
Breaking it in this morning and not a drop of leakage so far. I'm just about done and will fill it with sulfited water for a couple days just to be sure. I have 3 kits available (or soon to be). The Aglianico is in my #1 barrel which is now neutral. Also have the WE LE Super Tuscan ready in a carboy and the Forza clearing. I'll put the ST in first, then swap places with the Aglianico from #1, followed by the Forza. At that point, I should be close to 12 weeks aging and will move to wines from grapes with the 2015 vintage. #1 remains my kit barrel.
 
2 days and not a drop of visible water on the outside. I'll fill it up with wine on Friday or Saturday. :db Not surprising, as I could barely even find the seams between the staves on this one.

Not that I've needed it, but this time around, a little bit of beeswax was included with the barrel.
 
They all do that with water (SG=1.000) Its when you put wine in (SG= 0.994) and thinner that the leaks show up.... LOL

Nice to see the bees wax being tossed in. Its a cheap insurance policy for them and having numerous barrels returned.
 
I asked Santa (Mrs.) for barrels too, I got a 10 gal American and a 13 gal French. Mrs. Claus said she couldn't find any 6 gallon ones (even though I mentioned The manufacturer name. Not to worry, I'll be making some double kits and doing some blending. Lot to learn about barrel care, but I'm up for it.

Congrats on your new baby!!!!!
 
Wow, Mrs. Clause never sets foot in my basement but to tell me to clean it up. Wish she would bring barrels down here for me [emoji24]
 
Jim:

First I apologize if I'm hijacking your thread, just seemed like an appropriate place to ask your advice.

Any thoughts would be appreciated before I make this move, this is what I'm contemplating. I've got the two new barrels, 10 and 13 gallon, American and French oak respectively.

Being predominantly a kit maker, and therefore operating in the 23 L / 6 Gal. mindset, I'm thinking of sending the 10 and 13 gal barrels back in exchange for some 5 or 6 gallon barrels. Thoughts being that with 5 gallon barrels, I have a gallon to top up the barrels with, or 6 gallons, I can top up with similar wines I've made or some store bought stuff. They just seem to be more right sized than the 10 or 13.

I'd value your opinion / experience here before exchanging barrels.
 
@Johnd:

I had a similar predicament earlier this year. I started out making kits and still do 4-5 red kits per year. I have 1 barrel dedicated to that and each kit spends about 3 months in there. My 2nd barrel is all wine from grapes (as the third one will also be after a few kits are run through). A couple months ago, I thought about getting a 30L instead of another 23, thinking that I'm moving into larger/more batches of grape wines. But I'm also wanting to do more blending. I decided that I'd stick with mostly 6+ gallon batches of wines from grapes. That allows me to age 2 at a time. Regarding kit winemaking and a 6 gallon barrel. I have no regrets. Yes, you have to top up with something, but that hasn't been an issue for me. It gives me a reason to buy wines. :D I also have a decent inventory of varying types of wine from what I've made. So finding a good topper is never an issue. I'd recommend going with 23 liter barrels. I have no personal experience, but from what I've read, the smaller the barrel, the harder it is to seal up. And let's face it: bigger is better. :D

And if you're using Italian carboys, they are usually more than 23 liters. I've found that if my carboy is topped properly, there isn't room in the barrel for all it's contents and I have a bottle or sometimes two left for topping the barrel. When I take a wine out of the barrel, it goes into my Better Bottle, which is 23 liters. So usually no need to top that. Wines are usually only in there for a month, then they are bottled.
 
Boatboy24 said:
@Johnd:

I'd recommend going with 23 liter barrels. I have no personal experience, but from what I've read, the smaller the barrel, the harder it is to seal up. And let's face it: bigger is better. :D

And if you're using Italian carboys, they are usually more than 23 liters. I've found that if my carboy is topped properly, there isn't room in the barrel for all it's contents and I have a bottle or sometimes two left for topping the barrel. When I take a wine out of the barrel, it goes into my Better Bottle, which is 23 liters. So usually no need to top that. Wines are usually only in there for a month, then they are bottled.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the input, I'm gonna make the switch out. I'll probably end up with three 23L barrels for the price of the other two larger ones.
 
Boatboy24 said:
@Johnd:

When I take a wine out of the barrel, it goes into my Better Bottle, which is 23 liters. So usually no need to top that. Wines are usually only in there for a month, then they are bottled.
Click to expand...

Done Deal!!!!!!!! 10 and 13 on their way back to the supplier, three 23 liter Hungarian Med Toast Vadais and stands on their way to me, and a little money back to Mrs. Claus.

A few questions, Jim, if you don't mind.
One average, how much do you end up topping up your barrels on a monthly basis?
I've ordered both, but are you using the wooden bungs or the silicone bungs?
Leaving a wine in the barrel for 30 days, how long is it before the 23 l barrels become neutral?
Have you ever left your wines in a neutral barrel to bulk age for extended periods of time, like 6 months or a year?
 

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