Is this normal?

[David219]

So my barrel is almost one week old and has been filled with wine since Wednesday evening (@40 hours). It was nicely dry without leaks with water, other than some moisture around the hole. Since racking with the wine, some small leaks have appeared at one if the ends...primarily through the middle of the staves...and I have heated the wood and applied beeswax. There are still some moist areas, but no actual "drips".

My chief concern is the area around the bung hole that remains moist. The barrel is not overfilled. I had some spillage and overfill with the water during the barrel prep, but none with the wine. Where could this be coming from? Is it normal? Will it eventually dry?

I physically dried it with warm air yesterday at lunch, and when I came home yesterday evening, it was wet again. Any suggestions? Thank you all for your help and encouragement thus far on my winemaking journey. This forum has been a great help to me!

 

[JohnT]

This is normal and to be expected. As the angels take their share, and the level of the wine drops, this should no longer be a problem.

One piece of advice is this.. Make sure that the bung hole is positioned that it is always the very top of the barrel. I like to use a level for this.

Also, why not switch to a fermentation trap and stopper. If this is caused by gas, the trap will allow the gas to escape and not pressureize the inside of your barrel.

 

[David219]

Thanks, JohnT. The wine is currently below the level of the bottom of the bung...in fact, if it weren't for the "leakage", I would have room in the barrel for a bit of a top off.

Initially, I thought it was wicking from the wine along the surface of the bung, but since the wine is now below the level of the bottom of the bung...and actually below the effective level of the outermost portion of the ring of moisture, I just can't fathom how that area is continuing to seep.

I plan on getting another stopper...some sort of pressure release/air lock...soon. I had read NOT to use the wooden stopper. The consensus has been mixed, to my reading and understanding, as to whether an air lock or solid bung was a better choice. I opted for the solid bung because Morewine had it available for purchase with the barrel, and I didn't see that they carried an air lock. I plan on checking the Vadai website, because a few people have mentioned they carry a pressure release sort of bung. I just haven't done it yet.

How can that area remain moist if it is not in contact with wine? If there was a leak through a joint or stave, I would think gravity would cause the moisture to move down toward the barrel end and not up toward the hole...it must be coming from the hole...but how?

 

[ibglowin]

The action of placing a solid stopper actually will pressurize the barrel and force wine out through the path of least resistance, usually around the bung hole. It is also quite common to have a 100% dry barrel with water only to find it will leak a bit once it is filled with wine. Remember the SG of water is 1.000 and the SG of wine is ~0.994 so its thinner and will find the tiniest of leaks between your staves. Thats where the bees wax comes in as you found out. Don't overfill, and just wipe up any excess with a paper towel, spritz with Kmeta once a week or so and all will be good.