Wine Freezing in Winter

[dzeccola]

Hi All,

I am hoping this isn't a terrible noob question. I make fruit wine and I am using stainless steel and oak barrels for my secondary. My wine is ~7% alcohol and no residual sugar. It will be stored in an outdoor garage that is mostly uninsulated.

Has anybody ever had wine freeze in a stainless tank or wood barrel? Does it risk exploding like it would in the bottle in the freezer or is there enough flex in capacity to avoid actually exploding.

Thanks
D

 

[vernsgal]

at only 7% alc. it would freeze. Do your winters get very cold?

 

[spaniel]

The freezing point of the wine will be a function of the ABV. Click for chart.

Your wine will freeze once it reaches roughly 25-27 degrees F. A dip in temp overnight will likely be OK, because the entire wine container needs to cool before the edges will start to freeze. But sustained temps below that will freeze your wine.

I expect a sealed oak barrel filled to the top, when frozen, may crack. A stainless steel container may hold the pressure or it may bulge.