Topping Off Barrels

We may be past harvest and through all of the cleanup, but that does not mean the winemaking is done. In January, our focus now switches from starting and building our wines, to maintaining them. Our stainless-steel tanks are topped with gas once a week to limit oxygen exposure, which is essential for maintaining aromatics, as well as a few other things. We are performing Bâttonage, (stirring of the fine lees) on a regular basis, to encourage the rich mouthfeel that our longtime fans have come to know and love so much. One of the most essential tasks that we do though, is topping off our barrels.

Top offs refer to the act of filling a barrel to the top of the bung hole (yes, that’s a technical term). Believe it or not, oak barrels are liquid tight, but not airtight. Oak is a porous material that will allow water to escape, through evaporation, over time. After a couple of weeks, a barrel filled with 59 gallons of wine could easily be down to 58.5 gallons of wine, just from evaporation. We have over 150 barrels, so that half gallon adds up quickly!  Should an incident occur, and a barrel does not get topped off on a regular basis, the wine will continue to evaporate out and leave room for air to flow into the barrel through the wood itself. As air begins to enter the barrel, oxidation can take place, which could create considerable problems in the future. Therefore, we dedicate a couple of days every month to simply refilling the barrels to the top of the bung hole with wine.

2020 is going to be an exciting year filled with new wine releases. I think that our guests, old and new, will be thrilled to try the 2019 vintages which certainly boasts some of the best fruit Chrysalis Vineyards has ever seen! I am personally most excited about the Norton because I have never worked with a varietal so complex and robust.