Concrete Tanks

[Pumpkinman]

James,
I think by now you know that I try to be fair, and try to avoid becoming the forum police, nor do I need to defend Julie, but...the way I read her reply, it was a simple question regarding a contradiction of comments.

For something as critical as making these concrete fermenters, I have to agree that knowing who to pull knowledge from is very important, would you, as a member, rather have someone who read about a process answer you, or someone that has direct knowledge?

Personally, I thought that your reply:

jesus, i made concrete countertops 2 years ago....i started looking at a mix ratio for concrete eggs, and found this video...YESTERDAY...
WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU.

It was uncalled for and harsh, I didn't see any rude comment, any kind of off the wall statement, or a correction of your spelling, just the opposite, you attacked Julie verbally, I'm a little surprised that Julie tolerated it.

Unfortunately, as Moderators, we do police the forum, not just what everyone sees, even the unwanted spammers that these guys stop in their tracks trying to keep WMT a friendly community, part of doing that also involves trying to correct any incorrect or unfounded info posted, this may offend some, but in no way does it merit or justify verbally attacking a Moderator.

 

[JohnT]

James,

I do not think that Julie is doing anything intentional.

For the record, I have greatly enjoyed your posts over the last several years. I do not think ANYBODY wants to see you leave the forum.
You would be greatly missed!

 

[sour_grapes]

There is a difference between someone seeking clarification of possible errors, and someone being captious. There is a reason that James has been browbeaten into adding caveats and codicils to any post where he discusses procedure (as in "Not advising, just saying what I do.") I could document many instances of hypercorrection, condescension, and faultfinding directed at James if that were deemed to be useful.

 

[ibglowin]

Timely article from Wine Spectator magazine on concrete tank use here in the States.

http://www.winespectator.com/webfeature/show/id/49690

 

[FredNiffenegger]

Good article. They are reinforcing some of the same ideas I've been reading about, but I haven't heard of people using their own stones in the concrete. They are taking the concept of "Terrior" to a new level. We are digging a cave here for cellaring and storage and will keep the sand we come across for future use in our concrete. My hill is what they call "Glacial Till." It is basically made up of what the glacier scraped off the prehistoric landscape on it's way south and deposited here as it melted. There are layers of sand and gravel along with almost everything else. I still haven't figured out what shape to make the tanks. It may depend on what becomes available as far as molds or forming materials. Thanks for the info.

 

[Wade E]

I know for a fact that the Gallo brothers were using HUGE concrete storage tanks as far back as the late 50's (large and underground). Use of concrete is nothing new.

I prefer stainless simply because it does not crack, is more malleable, easier to clean, and is much more light weight.

That is where I heard of that!!! I watched a huge story of their lives and I now remember hearing about those concrete tanks on the tv show. Thanks John.

 

[ibglowin]

I spoke with Shea Comfort aka "The Yeast Whisperer" at our NM Vine and Wine Conference this weekend. He is about as sharp as they come in the wine industry IMHO. He said there is always going to be some new (old) technology that you can reinvent and charge people tons of money for. He was not all that impressed with concrete tanks and thinks its just a resurgence of something old that fell out of favor and was replaced by something equally as good and cheaper. He said he does love wineries with (way) too much money on hand as they keep him and others in the industry (gainfully) employed…..

 

[RegionRat]

Timely article from Wine Spectator magazine on concrete tank use here in the States.

http://www.winespectator.com/webfeature/show/id/49690

What a good article. Thanks for sharing.

RR

 

[sour_grapes]

A few months ago, I took a whole bunch of books on winemaking, including its technology, out of our library, and have been slowly making my way through them. Many of these are older texts. (For example, Table Wines, The Technology of Their Production, by Amerine and Joslyn, 2nd ed., 1970. 1st edition was 1950.) In those, the use of concrete (or redwood) tanks was considered normal. The 1970 book describes the shift away from concrete towards plactic-lined steel and/or stainless steel as a then-current trend. They identified one reason for this shift was the increasing size of wineries, i.e., consolidation of smaller vintners into larger facilities. (I gather that it is easier to make a large steel tank than a large concrete tank.)