Anyone know what this bung plug is called or where I can find it?

[LeoNagy]

Hi, I am new here. I am looking for a bung plug for oak barrels that I have spotted somewhere but I don't know how to find them. I would like to purchase some for our barrels. They look like they are made of glass or plastic and I think they serve to reduce the amount of oxygen contact with the wine as well as a measure of how much has evaporated. Probably makes sampling easier too. Does anyone know what they are called, how I can find them and where I could buy some? Thanks!

 

[Johnd]

Hi, I am new here. I am looking for a bung plug for oak barrels that I have spotted somewhere but I don't know how to find them. I would like to purchase some for our barrels. They look like they are made of glass or plastic and I think they serve to reduce the amount of oxygen contact with the wine as well as a measure of how much has evaporated. Probably makes sampling easier too. Does anyone know what they are called, how I can find them and where I could buy some? Thanks!


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Look here: MoreWine

It appears that you have a bung with an airlock on your barrels. For storage in barrels of finished wine, a solid bung will do, no airlock needed.

I see you’re new here, welcome!! We have a member that I believe is near you, @balatonwine

 

[LeoNagy]

Look here: MoreWine

It appears that you have a bung with an airlock on your barrels. For storage in barrels of finished wine, a solid bung will do, no airlock needed.

I see you’re new here, welcome!! We have a member that I believe is near you, @balatonwine

Thanks for the welcome and the info! Its nice to see other Hungarians on international forums as well!

The barrels are not mine by the way, I just saw these somewhere on social media but I can't remember where.

I don't have much experience yet, but wouldn't finished wine also have some degree of evaporation if stored in an oak barrel? Wouldn't they need refilling as well?

If the wine isn't finished yet I thought this sort of bung might be useful to easily check the level of wine in the barrel to ensure minimal air contact. I find it difficult to check the level normally.

 

[sour_grapes]

Welcome to WMT!

 

[winemaker81]

I don't have much experience yet, but wouldn't finished wine also have some degree of evaporation if stored in an oak barrel? Wouldn't they need refilling as well?

You will get evaporation through the wood. I have 54 liter barrels and the angel's share (as the bourbon industry calls it) is about 10% per year. I pull the bungs about once a month to top up -- and yes, sometimes its a fight to get it out, due to the vacuum. But this is good, as the vacuum indicates no air leakage into the barrel.

It just occurred to me that using an airlock may not be a good idea, as the vacuum will suck the water in the airlock toward the wine.

BTW -- my grandmother emigrated from Budapest to the USA in the early 1900's, and while she claimed my grandfather was Hungarian, we have no idea where he was from.

 

[balatonwine]

I am also in Hungary.

Your photo is of wine bungs (look like silicone) and airlocks. The color in each looks like there has been some wine ingress into the airlocks due to vacuum. as @winemaker81 said. You have to constantly monitor them to avoid this.

For airlocks, I personally like the ones from Speidel. In Hungary, you can find them here:

https://palinkaust.hu/cefre-keszitese/kotyogo-speidel
Solid rubber bungs can be found in most any "agro" stores in Hungary in wine regions. Or order online:

https://bi-bor.hu/termekek/dugok-294
Some have a smaller removeable bung in them to allow for sampling without having to remove the larger bung.

https://bi-bor.hu/termek-reszletek/gumidugo-furatos-801-1104
Do note: The seal of any air lock bung will depend on the quality of the hole in a wood barrel. If the seal is not good, you can use wax to make the seal.

 

[LeoNagy]

BTW -- my grandmother emigrated from Budapest to the USA in the early 1900's, and while she claimed my grandfather was Hungarian, we have no idea where he was from.

Nice! Have you been to Hungary? If not, you should definitely visit! It is beautiful!

 

[LeoNagy]

I am also in Hungary.

Your photo is of wine bungs (look like silicone) and airlocks. The color in each looks like there has been some wine ingress into the airlocks due to vacuum. as @winemaker81 said. You have to constantly monitor them to avoid this.

I see. I thought that the wine in the airlocks was intentional so as to be able to fill the barrel up fully. I misunderstood completely the purpose of those airlocks haha

Thanks for all the links!

 

[winemaker81]

Nice! Have you been to Hungary? If not, you should definitely visit! It is beautiful!

I have not. It's on my list of things to do. I have cousins there, but my dad hadn't had any contact with them since the 1940's, so there's no family connection. My last name (Fazekas) is pretty common in eastern and southern Europe, so tracking people would be tough, especially after 70 years.

 

[balatonwine]

I see. I thought that the wine in the airlocks was intentional so as to be able to fill the barrel up fully.

One always leaves some small amount of air space in the barrel. The wine will expand and contract for many reasons. Temperature and atmospheric pressure changes, for example, can pull the airlock fluid into the barrel, or push wine out of a fully filled barrel. The barrels in the photo, while very colorful and photogenic, are not the proper** way to do it.

To avoid oxygen contact, you can top up the barrel with a neutral gas. You can buy bottles of many different gas options. Some prefer noble gases, such as Argon, but I prefer Nitrogen myself.

Hope this helps.

** Edit: Perhaps a better term I could have used would be "trouble free". Because full topping up may be traditional, but not trouble free. That is, if you are there, every day, monitoring the air locks, so when things like the photo happen, and you immediately clean them out and replace with fresh air lock fluid, then it can be done. Leaving a little air space, and using modern methods, you can leave for a month or more, especially in winter, and things should be okay.

 

[LeoNagy]

I have not. It's on my list of things to do. I have cousins there, but my dad hadn't had any contact with them since the 1940's, so there's no family connection. My last name (Fazekas) is pretty common in eastern and southern Europe, so tracking people would be tough, especially after 70 years.

Thats true, tracking might be difficult indeed. Maybe one day!

 

[LeoNagy]

One always leaves some small amount of air space in the barrel. The wine will expand and contract for many reasons. Temperature and atmospheric pressure changes, for example, can pull the airlock fluid into the barrel, or push wine out of a fully filled barrel. The barrels in the photo, while very colorful and photogenic, are not the proper** way to do it.

To avoid oxygen contact, you can top up the barrel with a neutral gas. You can buy bottles of many different gas options. Some prefer noble gases, such as Argon, but I prefer Nitrogen myself.

Hope this helps.

** Edit: Perhaps a better term I could have used would be "trouble free". Because full topping up may be traditional, but not trouble free. That is, if you are there, every day, monitoring the air locks, so when things like the photo happen, and you immediately clean them out and replace with fresh air lock fluid, then it can be done. Leaving a little air space, and using modern methods, you can leave for a month or more, especially in winter, and things should be okay.

I see. Thanks a lot for all the answers and help!

 

[balatonwine]

I have not. It's on my list of things to do. I have cousins there, but my dad hadn't had any contact with them since the 1940's, so there's no family connection. My last name (Fazekas) is pretty common in eastern and southern Europe, so tracking people would be tough, especially after 70 years.

If married Catholic, best source is marriage records kept by the Catholic church. They keep records better than most governments. I know of people who could reclaim Hungarian citizenship based on such Church records. Hope this helps.

 

[winemaker81]

Yes, the family is Catholic. We know who my grandmother was, although not my grandfather. Thanks for the tip.

 

[stickman]

@LeoNagy I have seen special airlocks being used at some wineries, but not very often for home winemaking. They are specialty items available in different shapes and sizes depending on the application. They seem to be used on larger barrels and tanks, and are basically a glass chamber with an airlock on top. As you suspected, these airlocks allow you to maintain a visible level of wine in the glass chamber ensuring no headspace in the vessel below, and are sized and designed to account for the greater volume of expansion and contraction associated with larger tanks and vessels.

 

[LeoNagy]

@LeoNagy I have seen special airlocks being used at some wineries, but not very often for home winemaking. They are specialty items available in different shapes and sizes depending on the application. They seem to be used on larger barrels and tanks, and are basically a glass chamber with an airlock on top. As you suspected, these airlocks allow you to maintain a visible level of wine in the glass chamber ensuring no headspace in the vessel below, and are sized and designed to account for the greater volume of expansion and contraction associated with larger tanks and vessels.


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Oh I see! Thats exactly what I was thinking and was wondering what they were called or where one might be able to buy them. It isn't all that important really, but I thought it might be interesting to try it!