Outside/Inside

Not unlike a cork, a barrel reacts to the environment and conditions in which it is stored. Barrels, whether filled or not, should lie in a cool, damp location -- an environment with a relative humidity of about 80% is ideal. Which is to say, folks living in San Antonio (or anywhere else for that matter) shouldn't leave their casks lying around outside. Any cask that has been stored empty for a time -- or in conditions where it has been exposed to constant changes in temperature and humidity -- may show some signs of deterioration and possible leaks.

Nobody cares to find that their wine is leaking from the barrel and soaking into the ground. The smart winemaker knows that it's wiser to check for any potential problems with a container before filling it with wine, than to suffer with a leaky vessel later.

What are the signs to look for?

Check to make sure that all the hoops, from top to bottom, are tight and flush against the staves all the way around the barrel. The hoops keep the staves locked tightly together -- loose hoops lead to loose staves, and that means leakage.

Similarly, run your hand along the outer surface of the cask. The outside of a barrel should have a smooth and seamless feel to it. Any raised or depressed staves are cause for concern, suggesting a possible breach.

Of course, a barrel that appears to be in good repair might not be water tight. Check all surfaces of the cask and look for any obvious stains or discolorations that might indicate wine has drained from the barrel at a place where it shouldn't.

Still, at the end of the day, it is not the barrel's unity and soundness that should be of principle concern to the winemaker. Leaking barrels are a serious matter, but the real concern should be the condition of the barrel's interior surfaces.

 

The Inside Game

Every winemaker knows that oak barrels have a profound effect upon wine, and vice versa. Like wine itself, a barrel is a living, breathing entity; prone to changes over time. And the most noticeable wear inside a barrel is caused by wine itself.

A barrel is only useful to a winemaker for a limited time. With each filling, wine leaches more flavour from the wood -- to the point that the inner surface of the barrel becomes saturated with old wine and robbed of all possible tannins and flavours. After three years, its usefulness as a tool in cooperage is effectively done.

Another impediment to a barrel's inner life are tartrates. Crystals of tartaric acid occur naturally in wine and fall out of suspension when wines are stored in cool conditions. The resulting "wine diamonds" are well known to connoisseurs of fine wines and esteemed as a mark of quality.

However, these diamonds are not a barrel's best friend when they fall out of suspension while the wine lies imbarreled in the cool of a wine cellar. In just one season, tartrates can cover the inside of a barrel with a glasslike coating, divorcing wine from wood and ending any interaction between the two. If not properly maintained, a barrel's useful life can be drastically shortened by a build-up of tartates on the inner surface of the barrel.

Still, time and tartates notwithstanding, the life and flavour in the wood of a good oak barrel can be rejuvenated and extended well beyond its usual lifespan.

Reconditioning is the key to a longer, useful life for a wine barrel.

And reconditioning & revitalizing wine barrels is what Klaus the Cooper does best.

Reconditioning

It's a wise lover as knows to gift their partner with a trip to a spa.

And, since the barrel is a winemaker's partner in the mystery of vinification, it deserves the same kind of loving attention. If bath, massage & makeover is deemed to work wonders for a significant other, then a reconditioning should be considered to put some spark back into the relationship of wood and wine. The benefit is similar... after a few days Klaus will send that tired old barrel back all-aglow with a renewed energy that says "Oh yeah, work me baby!"

A barrel is a remarkably resilient vessel. Despite repeated seasons in cooperage, and the seeming of "love's labour lost," the oak's power and vigor can live on just beneath the surface of the barrel. The purpose of reconditioning is to bring these dormant flavours out from beneath the depleted layer of wood, and back into contact with the wine.

To this end, Klaus begins the process of reconditioning by opening the barrels and and planing down the interior surfaces. This close shave -- rarely more than one-sixteenth of an inch -- strips away old tartrate deposit and flavourless wood, exposing a new "skin" full of fresh oaky essence and tannins.

Then, the "toasting" begins.Over an open flame fired from the old shavings, the barrel's shiny new skin is carefully singed. Toasting burns away any residual old-wine flavours, helps draw the wood's spirit to the surface, and completes the barrel's "spa."

The result is a possibility of romance renewed for wood and wine: new love with an old flame; and flavour that's good for another three years.