OUR PROCESS
ENVIRONMENTALLY SAFE & SUSTAINABLE
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.
REJEUNIR™ (French for "rejuvenate")
We blast your barrel using dry ice (CO2) with our automated, Rajeunir™ 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
HUMAN-CENTERED QUALITY CONTROL
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.
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 CO2 gun. The machine is fully adjustable for speed, pressure, and rotation.
EFFICIENCY AT ITS FINEST
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.
THE ART OF NOT ADDING OR REMOVING
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.
FINAL TOUCHES
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. We install most brands (cooperages)
REAL-TIME INFORMATION
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.