5 replies to this topic

[DrunkSkunk]

I bought 2 5.25 gal barrels from barrelsonline. I put them into service at different times, 1 sooner than the other. The one I started using first is fine. Made some damn fine Petit Sirah 2010 vintage. I began to suspect something when I removed the last of 2010 cab from the last barrel I put in service. The zin I took out prior had a sharp taste but the cab had a very fragrant smell AND the sharp taste. I rinsed the barrel and soaked with a k-meta solution. After I drained and rinsed I put in some 2011 cab that smelled good and tasted ok. I have tasted every other day and maybe I am paranoid but it is beginning to get that sharp taste. I took it out of the barrel after 1 week in. The barrel is sitting with about 150 ppm k-meta water solution.

I am going to get a lot of testing questions so I guess I'll have to check pH and acidity but I did check them in the beginning and made adjustments and adjusted pH just after ML fermentation.

Anyone got any experience with a barrel performing such voodoo on their wine?

[gregorio]

Using a weak K-Meta solution to rinse is your problem. Barrels should be cleaned with a percarbonate and even then, there is no 100% guarantee that you will kill everything that has taken up residence in the wood. 150ppm for storage is even way too low and you need to acidify the water to get it down to 3.3PH or so. 3-500ppm SO2 at 3.3ph changed monthly would be a better storage solution. However, dry storage with sulfur gas monthly would be better at preserving some of the wood tannin. the water is bleaching it out.

At this point, you can try percarbonate or soda ash overnight to salvage what you have.

[DrunkSkunk]

Thanks for the reply. I'll bump up the SO2 and get some percarbonate ordered. As for storage, my intent was never to put the barrel in storage but rather to get on a rotation schedule with a wine always in line to go in next. I just noticed the wine coming out of this barrel was not to my liking and worse than when it went in. I'll give cleaning a try but I don't have much hope. It might look good as a small table ... sigh!

[Juniper Hill]

I've got five barrels in my cellar and like you try to keep them full of wine at all times. I had problems with mycoderma in one barrel where the bung wasn't seated properly (I'll never use a wooden bung ever again!). It responded to a good cleaning and serious dose of K meta.

I'm not sure what you mean by a sharp taste. Does it smell or taste like vinegar? If so, it could be due to oxidation/contamination. Are you leaving any headspace in the barrel? How often are you topping up? Are you using a solid bung?

Neil

[Doyle]

You didn't say how long you had the wine in the barrels. A 5 gal barrel has a very high surface to volume ratio and any wine put into a new barrel that size is going to get a lot of Oak very quickly. Are you sure you are not just tasting the Dry tannic taste of the Oak? We probably need a better description of the flavors and fragrances you are noticing. Sharp is not a flavor. It could be referring to excessive tannin or high acid. Also tasting every couple days is not a good practice as it exposes the wine to too much air and that can get you an oxidized wine in relatively short order. Here is a list of Wine Fault aromas.
Acetaldehyde Smell of roasted nuts or dried out straw. Commonly associated with Sherries where these aromas are considered acceptable
Amyl-acetate Smell of "fake" candy banana flavoring
Brettanomyces Smell of barnyards, fecal and gamey horse aromas
Cork taint Smell of a damp basement, wet cardboard or newspapers and mushrooms
Diacetyl Smell of rancid butter
Ethyl acetate Smell of vinegar, paint thinner and nail polish remover
Hydrogen sulfide Smell of rotten eggs or garlic that has gone bad
Iodine Smell of moldy grapes
Lactic acid bacteria Smell of sauerkraut
Mercaptans Smell of burnt rubber and/or cooked cabbage
Oxidation Smell of cooked fruit and walnuts. Also detectable visually by premature browning or yellowing of the wine
Sorbic acid plus lactic acid bacteria Smell of crushed geranium leaves
Sulfur dioxide Smell of burnt matches. Can also come across as a pricking sensation in the nose.

[DrunkSkunk]

It's not a vinegar smell at all. The actual smell of the wine is not so much offensive as it is not characteristic of the variety. This goes for the Cab as well as the Zin. The bung is wooden but there is a rubber grommet on the outside of it. I was NOT diligent about topping up but I did do it. My greatest crime may have been that I was not clear on the k-meta allowances when using a barrel. I had read somewhere that K-meat strips the oak flavor from a barrel and in the beginning I used none until I got it out of the barrel. The funny thing is I treated both barrels the same.

I think Doyle's point on the 5 gallon and the wine getting hammered with oak holds merit but I would have expected more of a vanilla taste than the bite. Thanks Doyle for that list of aromas. The only 1 I cannot identify is the crushed geranium leaves. I may have to visit a nursery for that. LOL The others are not what I'm smelling - thankfully.

I'm going to bring a few samples to work this week and do some testing. pH, acid and the like, not drinking testing ..

I guess this was a good learning experience though I wish I could have kept the loss to less than 15 gallons. They aren't a total loss though, they're drinkable. Maybe a year in a carboy might calm things a bit, who knows. The 1 bit of advice I would give anyone that is just beginning the barrel game, if you buy identical barrels, mark them for identification. To figure out what was going on I had to experience it then mark barrels then put wine in to see which was changing. That was the only real reason I was tasting frequently. I rarely ever do that. I dig my wine from a bottle!