Sample Bottling When Aging in Oak Drums????

[Sean@TomifobiaRanch QC]

So I have a first test batch of Wild Grape Wine aging in a 20 Lt French Oak Drum. Initially the wine had a somewhat "Sauvage" (wild) taste to it and after a week in the drum the wine has become a lot smoother and has really developed.

So given that an initial aging in a new oak drum is anywhere from 4-8 weeks depending on one's taste and that a wine will loose some of its oak traits once bottled;

Has anyone bottled wine as the oak aging process advances??? Ex. You pull a 375 ml bottle off at 2 weeks and replacing it with the same source wine and doing the same at 4 weeks then 6 weeks etc. until you choose to bottle it all.

My thinking is this way you could age the 375 ml bottles lets say for a year after and see what interval leave you with the optimal taste to the time aged.

Let me know your thoughts!

 

[AcreageWine]

You did not get any responses. I am curious on what you have found so far. I bought a 23 l European oak barrel and have a batch of Amarone in right now. I would love to get another 2 barrels.

How long have you Oaked? I was thinking 10-12 weeks but you noted 4-8 weeks now I thinking its too long.

 

[winemaker81]

@Sean@TomifobiaRanch QC, I missed this one when originally posted.

To answer the original question -- bottling a 375 ml every 2 weeks is a brilliant idea. It will provide great instruction in how length of time in that barrel affects the wine.

One issue is that the barrel evolves over time, losing its ability to pass on the oak character. What you learn from that first batch of wine can be applied to succeeding batches, but the comparison between the first batch and each succeeding batch will decrease over time as the barrel ages.

However, the lesson can be applied to another barrel of the same size, and in general it will teach you about oak, so it's worth doing.

@AcreageWine, IMO 10 to 12 weeks in a new 23 liter barrel may be too much. I suggest that at the 2 and 4 week marks, taste the wine. Then taste weekly.

Note that barrels do not have convection currents, so the oak character is not equally distributed. You may need to withdraw enough wine to enable you to gently stir the wine, add the reserved wine back in, then draw a tasting sample. Make sure your equipment is clean and sanitize before use, and it will be fine.

Alternately, taste at the 4 week mark before you top the barrel, and taste every 2 weeks after that to minimize air contact.

You'll need another wine to go immediately into the barrel. IMO using a holding solution on a new barrel depletes the oak character needlessly -- unless you're intentionally depleting the character so you can age wine longer in the barrel. I purchased used neutral barrels specifically so I can barrel age longer.

 

[AcreageWine]

@winemaker81 , I value the opinion of folks like yourself in this forum. I had a taste last night. I would describe it as lightly oaked at this point (2 weeks in) but I didnt stir the barrel, I will give that a shot tonight. I have another batch starting now so I am 4 weeks from being able to refill it.

 

[winemaker81]

I have another batch starting now so I am 4 weeks from being able to refill it.

If you over-oak a wine because the next batch is not ready for the barrel, remember that you can blend. If you bottle that wine in gallon /4 liter jugs, you can blend that wine in smaller doses into others needing more oak.

Keep in mind that some of the worlds most famous wines, such as "Bordeaux", are blends. A lot of folks on this forum do some uncommon blends and produce fantastic wines.

Before buying more barrels, keep in mind that you need to keep them full of something at all times. While you can dry store barrels, IMO it's my last choice.

To keep your barrel full without over-oaking wine, you're going to be making a batch every other month for the next year. This is good, as you're building your cellar for the future you! [Remember that you need to store it!]

 

[AcreageWine]

The current batch in the barrel is Amarone and the next is a Malbec, lots of room to blend there. I plan to make a batch every second month as you suggest. Fun actually. I would like to get another barrel and do a port. Distilling is on the list as well. A cellar is quickly becoming not a nice to have but must have.

Cheers

 

[winemaker81]

Distilling is on the list as well.

Depending on where you live, home distilling is illegal. This is true in the USA, where federal law prohibits distillation without a license. If you're not in the USA, check your local laws.

To the best of my knowledge, distillation discussions are frowned upon at WMT.