Anyone know about wine barrel making?
gedaliahblum
| Posted in General Discussion on
I am looking for any information on cooperage (wine barrel making). I would appreciate any help.
gedaliah
Replies
This book is very interesting:
http://www.astragalpress.com/cooper_trade.htm
But it does not have step by step instructions however.
There was a pretty good article in FWW many years ago on just this subject, (when it was an interesting publication....). I have the issue, I'll look it up.
A few years back on the tv show this old house they were doing a house in Napa California and they went to a factory that made wine barrels. Very intersting, I think they were using French Oak and steam bending the staves the machinery was pretty heavy duty. If you have access to old episodes of that show it might be worth a look.
Troy
Plenty of interesting info here. The lumber chosen, the way it's dried and the level of toasting during assembly can have a significant effect on the flavor of the wine. American oak barrels only came to acceptance in the 1990's once they started to use air dried white oak instead of kiln dried. It's all about the tannins in the lumber. The best coopers choose their oak in the forest. The French oak forests were planted by Napoleon and are the source for the best lumber for the best wine barrels.
http://www.rootsweb.com/~flbbm/heritage/cooper/barrelmaking.htm
Beat it to fit / Paint it to match
thaks for the replies. This forum is priceless....
keep the sources coming...I can't get enough.
gedaliah
israelhttp://www.gedaliahblumfurniture.com
It is becoming popular in the states to use toasted wood chips rather than barrels for wine. Unless you are making wine continually it is difficult to keep a barrel in good shape. My local wineshops carry varieties of chips including American and French oak, all toasted from light to dark as you the winemaker desire.
Bear in mind that the best way to learn is to take a good example in its finished state and work backwards. Thus, start with a full barrel and study the effect the gradual lowering of the wine level has upon the construction. Keeep notes ash yoo priogress aad tri to, well shar oh .......bye.
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