Hoop Nails

lf a barrel is left empty and untreated after wine or water has been introduced, molds and bacteria will begin to grow, eventually making the barrel unusable for wine. By replacing the air in the barrel with an atmosphere that is high in sulphur dioxide, SO2, microbes cannot survive.

There are three ways to introduce sulphur dioxide into a barrel; sulphur disks, sulphur sticks or sulphur gas. lf using disks or sticks we recommend using a sulphur bung which is a wooden bung that has a heavy gauge wire that extends down inside the barrel. At the end of the wire is a hook, for disks, and a basket, for sticks, that keeps them from dripping into the barrel. By burning the disk or wick in the barrel much of the oxygen is replaced by SO2.

1. Make sure the barrel is tight. lf air can easily enter the barrel, the sulphur will quickly escape.
2. Rinse the barrel with water.
3. Drain well. Any residual water standing in the barrel will combine with SO2 gas to form sulfurous acid which will soak into the wood.
4. Add sulphur dioxide.

Using sticks:Place the stick in the basket and light the top. Place the sulphur bung loosely in the bung hole. Allow to burn completely.
Quantity: 1/3 stick for 50 to 60 gallon barrel
1/4 stick for 20 to 30 gallon barrel
1/5 stick for 5 to 15 gallon barrel
(A 1/3 stick will take 3 to 4 minutes to burn.)

Using disks:Place one disk on the hook and light an edge.
Place the sulphur bung loosely in the bung hole.
Allow to burn completely. (Disks are sized for use only in 50 to 60 gallon barrels.)

Using gas:Use a hose from pressurized canister and inject Sulphur gas for 3 to 5 seconds.
5. Bung the barrel. (Refer to next section for suggestions.)
6. Store barrel in a cool, dark, humid' location. Check the Sulphur level every 3 to 4 weeks and repeat if necessary.
7. Rinse the barrel well with clean water before adding wine.

A barrel that is new, or that has been stored dry, will need to be swelled with water to seal itself before you can put wine in it. There are two basic approaches: the cold water soak, and the hot water soak.

The cold water soak: involves filling the barrel 1/3 full with cold water and letting it stand for 3-4 hours. Then you fill it to 2/3’s full and let it stand for another 3-4 hours. Finally, you top it up and keep it topped-up until the barrel stops seeping and seals itself. You then drain the barrel and fill it with wine. This process usually takes about 2 days, but with older barrels may last a little longer. However, if your barrel is still seeping after the fifth day, then you should probably have it replaced.  Brand new barrels which seep for more than two days are likely to continue to have issues – if this is the case then you should contact either the retailer of the barrel or the cooperage directly.

The hot water soak: involves filling the barrel with 1/10th its volume of hot water (i.e.: 6 gallons for a 60 gallon barrel). You insert the bung and slosh the water around so that it comes into contact with all of the interior surfaces of the barrel. You then stand the barrel on its end and fill the head area (on the outside of the barrel) with hot water and let it stand for at least 30 minutes. This is repeated for the other side. You then turn the barrel bung-side down, drain it out and let it cool. You should fill it with cool water to test that it has properly sealed before using it. If it seeps a little, just let the water sit in it until the barrel seals itself.

*One thing to note is that whichever method you use to swell your barrel, you should never allow the same water stand in the barrel for more than 3 days. If the soaking period will exceed 3 days, you should drain the barrel and refill it with fresh water.  This is to prevent bacteria and microbes that could begin to form in your barrel.