Refurbished Oak Wine Barrels

MoreWine! Signature barrels are refurbished for us by a small artisan cooper who uses a proprietary refurbishing process that results in superior barrels.

The Process:
The first part of the process is to remove the outer metal hoops and extract the barrel heads. Then a very unique, and patented, planer is placed inside the barrel, removing 1/4" to 5/16" of oak 'with the grain'. By comparison, some barrel refurbishing is done with a router. A router does not remove wood with the grain which can later have an affect on how wood integrates with the wine.

After the barrel and heads have been planed back to virgin wood, they are placed into a temperature and humidity controlled room where the wood moisture is dropped to below 13%. This unique drying process volatizes any remaining ethanol and wine essence. The combination of removing all wine soaked oak via the planing process and then extracting ethanol and wine essence through dehumidication helps to eliminate some classic problem aroma/flavors, such as cooked prunes and paint thinnner, that can potentially be associated with refurbished barrels.

After the barrel is dehumidified it is retoasted to a medium, medium plus, or heavy toast level. If you do not specify which toast you perfer, the barrel will come to you with a medium plus toast. The barrel heads are toasted as well and then reinstalled. During toasting the barrels reach a temperature that kills all living organisms, thus assuring sanitation. After toasting the barrel is filled with water to reswell and is inspected to make sure there are no leaks or defects. Each barrel is fully guaranteed against defects.

The Results:
When compared to a new barrel, a MoreWine! signature refurbished barrel imparts nearly as much oak flavor but with around half the tannin impact of a new barrel- at a fraction of the cost!

(Note: When comparing to a new barrel, it is most appropriate to compare a refurbished barrel to a thin stave barrel. The refurbishing starts with a used export barrel with thicker staves and after planing is equivalent in thickness to a new thin stave barrel. Thin stave barrels in general allow for more oxygen interaction (over time) with the wine than does a thicker staved export style barrel.)