Being easy to clean, hygienic, durable and cost-saving storage alternatives, stainless steel wine barrels are getting popular among the wineries. Comparing with traditional wooden barrels, they are more beneficial with their stable chemical and physical attributes.
Barrels are probably the oldest form for wine storage and still play a vital role in wine production process. Until the advent of stainless steel tanks, fermentation and aging in oak barrels was preferred for the premium wines. But taste and aroma of wine gets affected negatively, so the wineries started to find new alternatives for the oak barrels to store the wine. In this regard, stainless steel barrels appear to be the best alternative being durable and cost effective.
Aging of wine is a significant part of wine making process that can change the taste of the wine. The wineries are now becoming more conscious about the type of barrels the wine is stored in. Being less expensive to maintain and long lasting in use, steel wine barrels have emerged as the most preferred option for wine storage. When comparing with wooden barrels, they don’t erode quickly, hence they are not required to be replaced as often. As the steal is impervious to oxygen, it helps to minimize wine oxidation without changing the taste of the wine. Using stainless steel, the barrels can be manufactured in a variety of shapes and designs, quite difficult to do with wood or cement. Additionally, steel barrels facilitate the dry and cleaning storage and don’t affect the wine aroma.
Durability and inertness are the admirable features of stainless steel making it the suitable container for wine. Oak barrels, have a short life span, while the stainless wine barrels can be used for a longer period of time. With steel barrels, there is no need for the coating of paraffin wax, glass or epoxy resin and they can control the temperature smoothly during the fermentation, due to the heat-transfer property. Comparing the cost with oak barrels, steel barrels are more affordable options. The steel is neutral and doesn’t affect the taste and aroma of the wine stored in it. So, they are quite useful for the experimental batches of the wine which need neutral storage containers.
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