i did a search but came up empty. quick question???

20 cases to a barrel correct?

Depends - I've seen anywhere from 20 to 25 cases.

"Every barrel holds about 60 gallons of wine. This roughly translates to 25 cases of wine per barrel"

http://www.winexwired.com/3point3/cr33.htm

I heard 26.

do barrels differ in size or just how much they put in?

I think most barrels are the same size, but they don't necessarily get filled.

Case in point - 03 Marsh Vineyards Pinot. If I remember correctly, Pete said that he and Barbara only harvested enough grapes for about one barrel. Maybe a full barrel - maybe not quite full.

if the barrel does not get 100% full, do they remove the air?

Question -- don't some wines get stored in smaller barrels than some and some are in larger barrles than others?

And what's a 'barrique' (sp?)? Is that the same thing as 'barrel'?

Quote:

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if the barrel does not get 100% full, do they remove the air?

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Every barrel needs to be totally full or the wine will oxydize. Coopers make smaller barrels as well. The historical barrel size in Chablis is around 40 gallons. Most wineries will have several small fermenters or tanks that have a floating lid, that is the lid floats on top of the wine keeping out all the oxygen and a bladder can be inflated around the edge of the lid to make an airtight seal. Any wine that didn't fit in barrels goes into something like that. Winemakers might also purge a stainless steel tank or a glass carboy with nitrogen or argon and keep excess wine in that. There may be other solutions but that was the explanation I got.

I for one (being mathematically challenged) am always confused when wineries (Ridge comes to mind) state their production in barrels produced rather than cases.

True, stating barrels produced is a bit odd. But a production of 47 barrels sounds more like a tiny amount of wine rather than 1000 cases.

Actually Bud, it was the 04. I guessed about 20 cases per barrel. I have seen estimates ranging from 20 to 25.

Pete

DOH! Sorry, Pete. I should have known that!!! After all, you told me in person right at the vines.

after fermentation, when the wine goes to barrel - you know how many barrels you have. Not until after blending and bottling do you really know how many cases you have. For example, I was estimating that we would have 350 cases (of 750s) of the 2002. We wound up with 345.

For the 2003, we have 16 barrels - we will see next year how many cases that yields.

For the 2004, we have 12 barrels of cab (a down year for most everyone), 3 barrels of Franc, 2 Merlot and 1 Petite Verdot. We will not know how many cases until after blending.

I once bought a quarter barrel of wine and I go the equivilant of six cases. I say equivilant because I did several magnums.

Bob, that sounds like not much Cab and lots of the other varietals. Your first vintage was 100% cab wasn't it? Is the 2001 Bressler also 100% cab? The 2004 could be a bit different with so much Verdot, Merlot and Franc available. What will you do with the wine which does not make the final blend?

Skwid, you are correct - it is not much cab. Unfortunately, I am not alone in this problem. The 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003 are all 100% cab. The goal for 2004, as you would expect, is to make the best possible wine. Is it possible for this to be 100% cab? Yes, but I bet not. We will have to see what the final blend is before deciding what to do. I already know that the Franc is great, but we will see what happens.

I have seen wine barrels mostly 59 to 60 gallons, brandy or whiskey barrels are usually 48 gallons.

Joe