KillerB
Barrel Racker
Posts:1533
 | | 02/25/2005 6:13 PM |
| | At a guess, a red bartel would taint the white wine so it seems unlikely that you would cross colours. Unles you were trying to make some unseemly Rose, of course. | | | |
|
Budman
Master of Wine
Posts:11814
| | 02/25/2005 7:58 PM |
| TJ - you may fall for them, but he doesn't sell them there - only through the mailing list.
... and no, you can't afford them (at least not the Elevation 1147).  | | | |
|
Brian Loring
Grape Sorter
Posts:386
| | 02/25/2005 7:59 PM |
| Quote:
At a guess, a red bartel would taint the white wine so it seems unlikely that you would cross colours.
Exactly. But you can but red wine into a barrel that was previously used for white. In fact, wineries often look to buy used white barrels for their reds because white wines don't have the same issues with brett that reds do. One of the big questions when buying used barrels is what "problems" you might inherit. Things like bad yeasts (brett) or bad bacteria (acetobactor, etc) can be a big problem since they can infect the entire winery. | | | |
|
JimmyV
Central Connecticut
Wine Lover
Posts:4981
| | 02/25/2005 9:08 PM |
| | Brian: What sort of "treatment" if any does a used barrel go through before its second use? Does it get "re-toasted"? Sanitized? Hosed down? As a general matter, how long do the barrels sit around empty before they are re-used? | |
Beta testing a new signature. | |
|
Pete Marsh
Left Coast
Barrel Filler
Posts:1423
| | 02/25/2005 10:38 PM |
| Oak is like seasoning is to food. Oak is there to enhance the wine not overpower it. Just as there are different seasonings, an oak barrel can be from diffferent countries, different forests, have different toastes and on and on. It is just like seasoning - it gives the winemaker more choices.
Pete | |
Intaxication: Euphoria at getting a tax refund, which lasts until you realize it was your money to start with. | |
|
Brian Loring
Grape Sorter
Posts:386
| | 02/25/2005 11:32 PM |
| Quote:
What sort of "treatment" if any does a used barrel go through before its second use? Does it get "re-toasted"? Sanitized? Hosed down? As a general matter, how long do the barrels sit around empty before they are re-used?
Personally, I use ozone to clean all my barrels between uses. Imagine that I've just emptied a barrel for bottling. That barrel will get rinsed with hot water for about 5-10 minutes, then it's rinsed with ozone water for 15-20 minutes. The barrel is allowed to dry out overnight, and then I fill it with sulfer gas and seal it with a bung. Barrels will sit like that until it's time to fill them during the next harvest. For me, the barrels are only empty for a few months. If the barrels have to sit empty longer, then it's probably best to re-rinse and gas them every month or two.
There are places that will refurbish old barrels. They can scrape the insides and re-toast them... but I've never tried that. That process isn't what people are talking about when they say one year old, tow year old, etc barrels. What I described above, or some variant of that, is what happens. | | | |
|
JimmyV
Central Connecticut
Wine Lover
Posts:4981
| | 02/26/2005 1:32 AM |
| | Thanks. Very educational. | |
Beta testing a new signature. | |
|
David Niederauer
Los Gatos, CA
Master Sommelier
Posts:15701
| | 02/26/2005 7:20 AM |
| Mr. Loring,
What the hell do you know about white wine anyway? | | | |
|
David Niederauer
Los Gatos, CA
Master Sommelier
Posts:15701
| | 02/26/2005 7:26 AM |
| Speaking of tours... yes, the Del Dotto tour is well worth the $$. You will walk away with an understanding of oak. Only problem will be remembering what you learned (hic)  .
After the DD tour head over to Sequin Moreau. This is really the best-kept secret in the Valley for something really interesting to see. It is best to get there in the morning. At 1:30-2:00 in the afternoon they let the fires burn out. No appointment is needed as it is really a self tour (Weekdays only). If you haven't seen barrels being made you really should go there. | | | |
|
Pool Boy
Laurl, MD (DC suburb)
Master of Wine
Posts:13627
| | 02/28/2005 1:15 AM |
| Quote:
Speaking of tours... yes, the Del Dotto tour is well worth the $$. You will walk away with an understanding of oak. Only problem will be remembering what you learned (hic) .
After the DD tour head over to Sequin Moreau. This is really the best-kept secret in the Valley for something really interesting to see. It is best to get there in the morning. At 1:30-2:00 in the afternoon they let the fires burn out. No appointment is needed as it is really a self tour (Weekdays only). If you haven't seen barrels being made you really should go there.
Pops-- I'd love to see this. You got contact info for this? | |
www.roguefood.com -- www.cellartracker.com | |
|
David Niederauer
Los Gatos, CA
Master Sommelier
Posts:15701
| | 02/28/2005 2:18 AM |
| 151 Camino Dorado NAPA, California 94558
Tel.: +1 (707) 252 3408 – Fax: +1 (707) 252 0319
Just show up between 9:00am and Noon; no appointment nescessary.
It is off N. Kelley Road just across from the Napa Airport. One can see the back of the building (big Sequin Moreau sign) about 1/4 mile before the Napa turnoff of 121 (coming from Vallejo).
Call them if you want. | | | |
|
Bradley Molzen
Bayonne, NJ
Wine Lover
Posts:4955
| | 03/07/2005 1:18 AM |
| Quote:
I think it is fair to say that no other winery visit gives one so comprehensive a look into the use of barrels and the effect that barrel decisions have on the finished product.
Adam Lee at Siduri/Novy did a really nice tour, and let us taste out of all sorts of barrels specifically to notice the differences, and to see what he's experimenting with. Was a tremendous education, and lots of fun! | |
If you drink wine, you get smarter.... | |
|