With proper care your barrels will give you years of service. We hope this short guide will better enable you to take care of your barrels. Wood is a living and natural product. Even after it has been formed into a barrel it continues to evolve. Since it is designed to hold wine, it is obviously better to keep your barrels full rather than empty.

RECEIVING NEW BARRELS

Upon receipt of barrels, they should be unwrapped and inspected. If the barrels will not be used for a month or longer they should be wrapped again and kept in a cool, semi-humid place. Excessive moisture is also damaging to barrels as mould can develop. It is essential that storage is cool, but not too moist.

PREPARING NEW BARRELS

At Heinrich Cooperage, we recommend that our barrels be prepared prior to filling with wine. Below is our recommended method of how to prepare our barrels.

For immediate use
Fill each Barrel with 20 litres of hot water and leave standing on each head for 5 minutes. Follow this by rolling the barrel around to rinse the sides.

The water should be filtered or distilled water. Tap water is not appropriate. The introduction of tap water, which is generally heavily chlorinated, may lead to the development of TCA.

If there is any leakage, leave the barrel standing so that the wood absorbs some water and the leakage stops.

Empty the barrel and allow it to drain.

Note: Barrels should not be left standing with water for more than 24 hours. If the barrel continues to leak, please contact us.

For use in more than 1 month
Leave the barrel in its packaging. Store the barrel in a place with the following characteristics:

• Approximately 70% humidity
• Free of draughts and direct sunlight
• Cover the barrels with a tarp

Prior to usage, follow the steps as set out above for immediate usage.

BARREL CLEANING AND STORAGE OF USED BARRELS

After you have removed wine from your barrel, it is necessary to clean it thoroughly and store it for its next use. The ideal situation is one where the barrel is continuously used and cleaned between uses and refilled immediately with wine. If the barrel will not be used immediately, rinse the barrel, upside down, with cold water. Allow to drain overnight. The barrels should then be preserved by treating with SO₂ gas. The barrel should be resulphured and inspected every four weeks.

(Hot water will extract more of the oak flavours at a faster rate).