{"id":422,"date":"2024-05-02T15:38:12","date_gmt":"2024-05-02T15:38:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/35.180.51.75\/2024\/05\/02\/how-are-barrels-reconditioned\/"},"modified":"2024-06-27T14:36:39","modified_gmt":"2024-06-27T14:36:39","slug":"how-are-barrels-reconditioned","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.reoaked.com\/en\/2024\/05\/02\/how-are-barrels-reconditioned\/","title":{"rendered":"How are barrels reconditioned?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Why recondition an oak barrel?<\/h3>\n

Depending on the appellation and the estate, winemakers store their barrels for periods ranging from 1 to 10 years, sometimes even longer. The older the barrel, the less aromatic it becomes. In the Bordeaux vineyard, for example, most winemakers believe that a barrel can enrich wine for three years. After the third aging, the barrel is considered neutral in terms of wood contribution.<\/p>\n

Distillers, due to specific regulations are required to use their barrels for a set period of time. However, used barrels that have contained other spirits or wine my be of interest, as they add complexity to spirits in certain situations. They allow their spirits to be made more complex under certain conditions.<\/p>\n

When a barrel has held red wine, the inner surface is too impregnated, this can cause unwanted tannins and sulfur residues to be in contact with the alcohol.<\/p>\n

Reconditioning is a solution that removes these residues and gives the barrel a second life.<\/p>\n

Like blotting paper soaked in water, the wood absorbs wine as it comes into contact with it. However, the wine penetrates the wood to a limited thickness, generally three to four millimeters.
\nThe reconditioning solution consists in shaving a few millimeters of the inside of the barrel to restore an intact wood surface, capable once again of exchanging aromas with the wine or alcohol.<\/p>\n

Even though the operation may seem simple, it requires a certain amount of expertise.
\nDeveloped by Scotch whisky expert James Sneddon Swan<\/a>, the STR reconditioning method is widely used in the spirits industry.<\/p>\n

The STR Method (Shaved, Toasted, Re-charred)<\/h3>\n

The acronym STR stands for Shaved, Toasted, Re-charred. In French, a planed, bousin\u00e9 and carbonized barrel.
\nThis last stage (Char) was initially reserved for bourbon barrels. (Swan, 1988).
\nToasting levels vary depending on the cooperage but four main types can be identified :<\/p>\n