Safari Creek Vineyard and Winery

Barrel Wash Safari Creek Barrel

New for 2017 a Barrel!!! A barrel was generously gifted by Montagu Wines to Safari Creek Wines. The barrel has only been used 1 year (for white wine) and is from the French "Vosges" forest. The barrel was not used in 2016 so a good cleaning was needed before the 2017 harvest. We took it to Vic at Barrel Blasters in Napa. They have a very unique process for cleaning and restoring wine barrels by sand blasting with crushed dry ice. Check out the full explanation on their web site, link above. Vic and son restored the Safari Creek barrel (very quickly) on July 7th; a really fun and educational experience.

While I was there they also had some of Domaine Chandon barrels they were doing a special restoration of. Vic showed me the special barrel inserts they were making for Domaine Chandon...did I want the same? Well Safari Creek has to keep up with the Chandon's, so YES!!! After which they used the flour and water mix (the "mud" as they call it) to reseal our barrel which is now ready for the 2017 harvest.

Vosges Forest:The oak from the Vosges forests west of Alsace became popular with wine-makers in the early 1980s. This wood is usually tight-grained and resembles the oak from Nievre and Allier. Oak experts say they can identify this wood by its 'clear' or 'white' colour. However, the character of Vosges woods varies according the altitude of the stand. Compared to wood from Nevers and Allier, Vosges tends to be wider-grained.