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Cleaning Wine Barrels with Dry Ice
The Process
Dry Ice Blasting is a process in which particles of solid carbon dioxide (dry ice) are propelled at airstream velocities to achieve the impact energy to strip and clean surfaces.
We blast your barrel using dry ice (Co2) with our automated, patent pending RajeunirTM (French for "rejuvenate") equipment which utilizes an EPA,
USDA and FDA approved process. 100% of the Co2 sublimates then dissipates
on impact, leaving NO CHEMICAL RESIDUE so
there are NO OFF TASTES. We remove
the tartrate crystals, old wine residue and approximately fifty
thousandths of an inch of old wood. This exposes fresh toasted wood and
increases the surface area of your barrel, so more wine comes in contact with more oak.
Barrel Blasting is a mobile cleaning service. For jobs of 50 or more barrels our team will come to your winery site with our truck, food grade compressor, our automated Rajeunir TM machine, and 2-3 coopers and assistants. For smaller jobs, the barrels may be brought to our Napa facility for blasting.
At Barrel Blasting, our coopers will remove the barrel top and give your barrel a visual and sensory inspection. Removal of the top is the only way to ensure 99% of your barrel has been cleaned and has no contaminated sections. We do not open both ends of the barrel so that we do not compromise the barrel's integrity.
If necessary, we will scrape off excessive amounts of tartrate crystals so
that the automated process can better penetrate the barrel. We also look
for and scrape out any blisters holding old wine that may harbor
contaminants so as not to compromise the next batch of wine. If the barrel looks or smells unusually bad, we alert the winemaker of the problem and let him make the final decision of whether to proceed with cleaning or put the questionable barrel aside.
Once the barrel passes inspection, it proceeds to the blasting process where it is loaded on the automated Barrel Blasting machine. This is where the inside of the barrel is blasted with a high pressure C02 gun. The machine is fully adjustable for speed, pressure, and rotation so that each and every barrel and/or job can be custom tailored to the specific winemaker's desires.
| Bob at work blasting a barrel. |
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The barrel is then hand-blasted to clean the bottom of the barrel and gently clean the croze. The head is also hand-blasted.
Hand-Blasting Barrel Lid
The coopers will then reassemble your barrel and make any minor repairs that may be necessary.
We also supply top quality inserts and can install them into your freshly blasted barrels. If you have pre-purchased staves, for a minimal extra charge we will have our coopers install them after blasting.
For an additional charge, So2 (sulfur dioxide) may also be added upon request.
Finally, the barrels are stamped with our Barrel Blasting Date Stamp so that the winemakers can keep track of the year in which the barrels were blasted. It also identifies which end of the barrel was disassembled.
Proper barrel maintenance is recommended, and it is important that you keep your barrel hydrated to prevent drying and bacterial contamination.
In addition to being especially well-suited to cleaning and restoration of wine barrels, wine presses and crushers, Dry Ice Blasting is highly effective for Barrel rooms, caves and storage.
| Mold on Concrete Before and After Dry
Ice Cleaning |
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Under Wine Storage Tank Before and
After Dry Ice Cleaning
The key to our process is that we are leaving the barrel's original toast intact. The Barrel Blasting doesn't add or remove anything, but instead cleans the barrel and opens up the wood's grain. Note this 3 year old French Oak heavy toasted barrel (below) after blasting. This enlarged side view shows the toast's penetration, ensuring no raw wood flavors. Increased surface area (seen at top of image) also allows more wine to come into contact with more wood.
| Toast's Penetration Remains Untouched. |
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For more information, please read about the results.
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