Cleaning Barrels...

[Ore]

Ciao,

The other week I was working (cooking) at Mastroberardino in Atripalda (AV), Italy. Near the kitchen there were about thirty barrels that were being 'cleaned' with sulfur.

Is this a normal practice? What does the reaction between the sulfur and oak create? Is there any kind of taste effect on the wine? Is this where the preservative is picked up? (Sulfites, off of the oak?)

This is what I saw:

So, I am actually guessing the SOLF. means sulfur (other than the smell!).

Grazie,

Ore

[naguere]

As an amature wine maker, i use Sodium Metabisulphate as a steralizing agent on all equipment. Could it be that you saw?

[Rebel Rose]

Ore, yes. The use of sulphur as a disinfectant is very common. Barrels should not be stored "dry" for any period of time because the wood will dry out and shrink, causing leaks and other problems, but if a barrel is to be set aside for a short period while other winemaking tasks ensue, then sulphur is used to discourage and destroy bacteria. The modern convenience of SO2 gas canisters makes it pretty easy to gas a barrel--we stick the wand in, turn a valve, hold our breath, count to ten, turn the valve off, and pop the bung tightly into the barrel. Decades ago it was common practice to hang a small cone of sulphur on a wire coat hanger, light it with a match, and hang the cone in the barrel to burn for awhile.

This is not the sulphur you find measured in wine, however. The wine will pick up minute amounts from dirt, grapeskins, and barrels, but the majority of the free SO2 in wine remains from additions made directly to the wine by the winemaker.

There's more discussion on sulfites in wine in our Wine 101: Sulfites, Nothing to Sneeze At! thread.

By the way, ore, your question on barrels reminds me that we will have a special guest in January (scheduling details to be confirmed by the Keeper of the Calendar) who knows everything about barrels! He'll be joining us for one week to discuss cooperage, oak forests, and the effects of various oak on wine, so this might be a good place to start practicing your questions!

[Rebel Rose]

naguere, you are also right. Sodium metabi is a common sterilizing agent, and we use it in solution to rinse tanks, barrels, hoses and equipment. Most wineries keep a small tub of metabi solution on hand into which gaskets and fittings are tossed after use. They are later rinsed and hung up to dry. I also pour it on the crush pad before scrubbing it with a broom. And I fill a large garbage can with a metabi solution for brooms, scoops and pitchforks during harvest--it helps keep them clean and sanitized with a minimum of effort. While Dan is busy making wine, I am the metabi queen.