On Oct 21, 2:41 pm, Doug > wrote:
> Disclaimer - although I have a couple of small barrels, I've never
> done fermentation in them.
> I just use them for aging my reds.
>
> I think barrel fermentations are often done with the head removed from
> one end, to allow more room for foaming, etc. I suppose with a white,
> being just juice, you could leave the heads on and allow the CO2 to
> escape through the bunghole. For reds, I don't see how you could get
> all the skins, etc. into the barrel through that little bunghole, or
> how you would punch down the cap if you could. OK, so if you haven't
> removed a head, I'm guessing you are doing a white wine (Chardonnay?).
>
> Either way, you are looking at maybe a week or so of fermentation,
> with the release of lots of CO2. I don't think that puts you at
> significant risk for spoilage. Once fermentation is over, you will
> want to fill the barrel and keep it topped up.
>
> If you are going to fill it with the white wine, keep in mind that a
> new barrel can impart a whole lot of oak flavor in a short period of
> time, particularly the smaller sizes. Check it every couple of weeks,
> after the first month, unless you are aiming for "Chateau Plywood."
> For a barrel of that size, I don't think you'd want to expose even a
> very oaky Chardonnay to it for more than a few months, so it would be
> a good idea to have a plan for what you are going to do with the
> barrel when you empty it. You can fill it with another wine (assuming
> you have that much) or burn some sulfur inside the barrel
> periodically, to discourage bacteria from growing on the inside.
>
> Doug

Yes... I have 17 gallons of Chardonnay juice. Sorry… Forgot to
mention that.

So everyone feels it's safe to drain out the water and use the barrel
as-is? It's brand new... Never been used. I didn't think about the
CO2 filling the headspace. With only 6 gallons in it, there will be
quite a bit of headspace, but as I said, once at 10 Brix, I'll rack
out.

I plan on fermenting 6 gallons first (which would leave quite a bit of
head space in the 13.5 gallon barrel). When at 10 Brix, rack out and
then refill the barrel with 11 gallons (the remainder of the 17 gallon
amount) and ferment that out, then inoculate with ML bacteria (Enoferm
Alpha) when Brix hits 10 or so.

For aging, after sugar fermentation was complete, I plan to top up the
barrel to its full 13.5 gallons and age the wine sur lees with
occasional stirring maybe once a month or so. I'd check it every week
or so for flavor and to top it up. Once I tasted too strong an oak
flavor, that's when I planned to rack it off and age in glass carboys
(and cold stabilize and fine).

Eventually, I'll blend all the wine together, so the wine aged in oak
will be thinned out by the 6 gallons only partially fermented in oak.
It'll be interesting to see how this tones-down(?) any over oaking.
Also, I'll rack off the 6 gallons from its lees after ML
fermentation. I hope this preserves the Diacetyl in that 6 gallons
for a nice buttery undertone when blended with the 11 gallons
fermented in the barrel (which will have its Diacetyl blown off after
ML fermentation).

Anyone see any problems with this approach?

-Paul