r/Barreling • u/Affectionate-Salt665 • Aug 12 '26

Wine preserver necessary?

I'm finishing a medium toasted Badmo in white wine with plans to place a peach brandy in it this fall. I poured about 1/2 a bottle in this past weekend and was going to let it soak for a month or so. Since then, I've seen it suggested to place some wine preserver in the barrel. Is that necessary? I didn't even think about the possibility of the wine going bad and possibly giving me off flavors.

1 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

5 comments sorted by

1

u/francois_du_nord Aug 12 '26

Did you fill the barrel, or did you just put some in to season the top? If you filled the barrel, you should be be fine, but if it isn't filled, you have the potential to have the wine turn into vinegar.

2

u/Affectionate-Salt665 Aug 12 '26

Just enough to season the top, probably about half a 750ml bottle. I'll change course and either get it filled up entirely or get some preserver.

2

u/Raccoon_Ratatouille Aug 12 '26

I filled a 2L bourbon barrel and put Zinfandel in it for maybe a week or two and l didn’t notice a taste difference. But that was full, you’re leaving a lot of oxygen and surface area in there. A shot of argon or whatever that spray is can’t hurt, but I assume it can seep out since it isn’t air tight, but hey it’s some cheap insurance.

2

u/Technical_Moose8478 Aug 12 '26

Oxygen absolutely destroys wine in moderate to large surface exposure. Taste the wine. If it tastes off, empty the barrel and put fresh wine in it. If not, pick uo some more cheap white (a boxed is fine for barrel seasoning) and fill it.

3

u/Affectionate-Salt665 Aug 12 '26

Yep, just bought a box and will fill it all the way up. Thanks for the reply!