eBay Barrel

I spotteed this as an eBay item. This was way back in the second year of winemaking. The first year was a small batch of Pinot that Lee and I put together. It turned out not great, but good enough to inspire us to try again, so I went on the hunt for a barrel and found this. It is "re-cooped" French oak and holds about 23 gallons. I called the seller for information and found that he is a barrel remanufacturing company in California wine country. He takes used barrels and shaves off 1/4 inch (or more) of the interior wood and then re-toasts it. He said that it then has most all qualities of a new barrel. The eBay sale was cheap advertising for him. I got it for just under $200.