How it’s going.
Our barrels got delivered.
We started an LLC and applied for our federal winery permit. We also had a call with someone at the Washington Liquor and Cannabis Board to make sure we are on track.
We secured our order for 1 ton of Tempranillo and 1 ton of Syrah from Candice’s family’s vineyard. The Tempranillo will be ready first, in late September, and the Syrah will be ready sometime in October.
We’ve also been picking up equipment here and there—a stainless steel sink, barrel racks.
We also bought 4 refurbished oak barrels from Rewine.
New oak barrels are very expensive. If you don’t know, wine aged in oak barrels picks up aromas, mouthfeel components, and tannins from the barrels. It is very common that winemakers use brand new barrels each year to make their super premium red wines. If you’ve ever tasted pleasant warm baking spices or smokiness, it’s probably from new oak. Most commonly, winemakers use French oak. There are real differences between American oak and French oak (as well as other oaks and other woods) as far as the flavors they impart to the wine. So yeah, new oak is expensive. This year, new French oak barrels are $1,000+ each. This is because a lot goes into making the barrels. After the wood is cut into staves, the staves are left out for a few years to cure. The staves are cut perfectly to form a barrel without using any glue or nails to hold them together. Then the barrels are toasted to a level according to what the winemaker wants. The differing levels of toasting impart different characteristics to the wines.
Barrels can be reused, but they lose components each year. In 3-5 years, the barrel has no components to offer the wine, but these “neutral” barrels can be used for wines that don’t need the added aromas, mouthfeel components, or tannins. Many varietals do well without added oak components of a new barrel and benefit from the level of oxygen transfer from a neutral barrel. Red wines that have distinct fruitiness or floral aromas may do well retaining those characteristics in neutral oak.
Because barrels are so expensive, and because there is a general drive to reuse things here in the Pacific Northwest, Rewine Barrels refurbishes used barrels. They take old barrels, sand the inside down, then retoast it. The walls of the barrel become thinner during this process, so it’s not something that can be done more than once. But once gives it another life, and it only cost us $400 per barrel.
Anyway, we’re gathering everything we need, but still don’t know if our permit and license will go through in time.