BARRIQUE BARREL AND METHOD FOR REUSING A BARRIQUE BARREL OF THIS TYPE

Abstract

A layer that is present on the inner side of barrique barrels, produced by wood toasting, is responsible for sensory enhancement of the wine stored therein. The extraction of these substances, so-called tannins, is greatest in a new barrique barrel and decreases as the barrel is used for a second and third time, thus increasing the storage time. It is not common to use the barrel more than three times. This results in considerable costs and material expenditure for the barrique barrels. In view of this, the aim of the present invention is to provide a barrique barrel that can be reconditioned. For this purpose, barrel staves are joined to form layered rings, which are assembled in layers to form a barrel instead of arranging the staves vertically as in conventional barrels. As the result of a detachable connection between the staves and the layered rings, the barrel can be disassembled and ground on the inside so that the barrel staves can be toasted again and assembled to form a new barrel.

Claims

1. A barrique barrel having a barrel base (20) and a barrel wall (3) formed from multiple barrel staves (11) joined in a liquid-tight manner, wherein multiple essentially straight barrel staves (11), toasted on an inner side (19), are detachably connected to one another to form self-contained, at least substantially rectangular layered rings (10), which in turn are detachably joined together in a liquid-tight manner and thus form the barrel wall (3).

2. The barrique barrel according to claim 1, wherein the barrel staves (11) have an inner area (12) and an outer area (13), wherein the inner area (12) extends toward the ends into a miter (16) in each case, and the outer area (13) extends toward the ends into a corner leaf (14) in each case.

3. The barrique barrel according to claim 2, wherein two adjacent barrel staves (11) of a layered ring (10) are joined together at their ends by means of a corner leaf (14), the corner leaf connection (15) being situated on the outer side of the layered ring (10), and a miter adjoining the corner leaf connection (15) in the direction of the layered ring interior.

4. The barrique barrel according to claim 2, wherein two adjacent layered rings (10) are connected by means of connecting elements, in the form of a double trapezoid (4), which are introduced into a double trapezoidal recess formed from two congruently arranged peripheral trapezoidal recesses (17) of two adjacent barrel staves (11).

5. The barrique barrel according to claim 2, wherein the barrel wall (3) is clamped between the barrel base (20) and an uppermost layered ring (10), or between the barrel base (20) and a barrel top (8), by means of connecting elements in the form of threaded rods (5) that pass through the layered rings (10) along the height and that are provided on at least one side with a detachable closure element (6).

6. The barrique barrel according to claim 4, wherein the connecting elements are situated in the outer area (13) of the barrel staves (11) and keep the inner area (12) of the barrel staves (11) free.

7. The barrique barrel according to claim 1, wherein the barrel base (20) is formed from a resin-pressed wood-based product and is covered, at least in sections, with a stainless steel plate (22).

8. A method for reusing the barrique barrel (1) according to claim 1, wherein the detachable connections between the layered rings (10) and between the individual barrel staves (11) are detached, the individual barrel staves (11) are ground on their inner side (19) and reassembled to form layered rings (10), which in turn are detachably reassembled to form a liquid-tight barrel wall (3), the barrel staves (11) being toasted again on their inner side (19) before or after assembly.

9. A method for reusing the barrique barrel (1) according to claim 2, wherein the detachable connections between the barrel staves (11) of the individual layered rings (10), but not the superposed barrel staves (11), are detached, the resulting barrel walls are ground on their inner side (19) in combination and are detachably reassembled to form a liquid-tight barrel wall (3), the barrel staves (11) being toasted again on their inner side (19) before or after assembly of the barrel walls to form a barrel wall (3).

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the reuse of the inner area (12) of the barrel staves (11) up to the point of complete consumption is iterated by repeated removal of the toasted inner side (19) of the inner area (12) and retoasting of the new inner side (19) resulting from the grinding.

Description

[0025] In the drawings,

[0026] FIG. 1 shows a reconditionable barrique barrel having a barrel wall made up of a plurality of layered rings in a top view from the front,

[0027] FIG. 2 shows a barrel stave for forming a layered ring, in an oblique perspective illustration from above,

[0028] FIG. 3 shows a connection of two barrel staves in an oblique perspective illustration from above,

[0029] FIG. 4 shows the base area of the barrique barrel according to FIG. 1 in a detail of a frontal cross-sectional illustration, and

[0030] FIG. 5 shows the top area of the barrique barrel according to FIG. 1 in a detail of a frontal cross-sectional illustration.

[0031] FIG. 1 shows a barrique barrel 1 constructed of a plurality of layered rings 10. The layered rings 10 in turn are in each case made up of multiple barrel staves that are detachably joined together. For connecting the layered rings 10 to one another, a plurality of threaded rods for clamping all layered rings and a barrel base 20 are provided once, and for connecting adjoining layered rings in each case, clamping is carried out by means of double trapezoidal connectors. These connections are described in greater detail with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

[0032] The barrique barrel 1 has a drain tap, situated in a lowermost layered ring, for removing the stored wine, and a foundation 23 for elevated storage and for facilitating removal. A barrel top 8 is designed in such a way that it is placed on the barrel and is not fixedly connected thereto in order to also provide access to the interior of the barrique barrel 1 from the top side.

[0033] FIG. 2 shows an individual barrel stave 11, which in the present case may be connected to three additional, identical barrel staves 11 to form a square layered ring 10. The barrel stave 11 is made of oak, is long and straight, and in the present case has an oppositely facing inner side 19 whose surface is roasted, i.e., toasted. In the properly designed state of the barrique barrel 1, this inner side 19 faces toward the wine.

[0034] The barrel stave 11 is divided lengthwise into an inner area 12 and an outer area 13 that smoothly merge into one another. The outer area 13 ends at the end-face sides of the barrel stave 11 in a corner leaf 14, the corner leaves 14 at the ends being offset relative to one another. Identical barrel staves may thus be joined together without having to pay special attention to where a particular barrel stave is used during the assembly of a barrique barrel 1. In contrast to the outer area 13, the inner area 12 ends at the end-face sides of the barrel stave 11, but in a miter, not in a corner leaf. It is thus possible to remove the entire inner side 19 during reconditioning of the barrique barrel without leaving protrusions at the edges, in order to ensure seal-tightness at the edges.

[0035] The barrel stave 11 has trapezoidal recesses 17 that extend into the outer area 13, and which represent undercut grooves having a trapezoidal cross section. Two superposed barrel staves 11 complement their respective trapezoidal recesses 17 to form double trapezoidal recesses into which connecting elements in the form of double trapezoids 4 may be introduced. This is illustrated in greater detail in FIGS. 4 and 5.

[0036] To be able to drive the threaded rods, shown in FIG. 1, through the barrel wall 3, the barrel staves 11 also have boreholes 18 in the outer area 13, which via multiple superposed barrel staves complement one another to form a continuous insert channel for the threaded rods 5.

[0037] FIG. 3 shows two assembled barrel staves 11 in which the corner leaves 14 overlap in a form-fit manner, and the miter 16 continues this form-fit connection in the direction of the inner side. In the outer area 13, the resulting corner leaf connection 15, with a screw connection 7 not shown in greater detail in FIGS. 4 and 5, ensures a force-fit connection within the layered ring 10, while in the direction of the inner side the form fit results in a tight connection of the barrel staves 11.

[0038] FIG. 4 shows the base area of the barrique barrel 1, which in the present case is formed by a resin-impregnated plate that forms a wooden base 21. This plate is covered by a stainless steel plate 22, which in this design comes into contact with the wine, whose aroma is not affected. Therefore, reconditioning does not refer to the barrel base 20 here.

[0039] To allow removal, the barrel base 20 is set on a foundation 23 that is made up of a circumferential C profile 24, at the inner side of which the threaded rods 5 also exit from the barrel wall 3 and are locked. The C profile 24 in turn rests on a rectangular profile 25 in which pedestals 26 are situated.

[0040] FIG. 4 also shows the double trapezoids 4, which are introduced into the corresponding trapezoidal recesses 17 of the barrel staves. The double trapezoids hold the threaded rods 5 as well as the barrel wall 3 together. The screw connections 7 ensure that adjacent barrel staves 11 of a layered ring 10 are joined together.

[0041] Lastly, FIG. 5 shows the area of the barrel top 8, which in the present case is placed on an L profile 9. The L profile 9 rests on an uppermost layered ring 10, and the threaded rods 5 extend through both the L profile 9 and the layered rings 10. A closure element 6 in the form of a cap nut tensions the threaded rod 5 against the C profile 24, thus pressing the barrel staves 11 of the barrel wall 3 against one another in a liquid-tight manner.

[0042] The above description thus involves a reconditionable barrique barrel whose barrel staves are assembled in layers and allow repeated removal of their inner side, so that repeated toasting of the inner side and significantly increased usage are made possible.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

[0043] 1 barrique barrel [0044] 2 drain tap [0045] 3 barrel wall [0046] 4 double trapezoid [0047] 5 threaded rod [0048] 6 closure element [0049] 7 screw connection [0050] 8 barrel top [0051] 9 L profile [0052] 10 layered ring [0053] 11 barrel stave [0054] 12 inner area [0055] 13 outer area [0056] 14 corner leaf [0057] 15 corner leaf connection [0058] 16 miter [0059] 17 trapezoidal recess [0060] 18 borehole [0061] 19 inner side [0062] 20 barrel base [0063] 21 wooden base [0064] 22 stainless steel plate [0065] 23 foundation [0066] 24 C profile [0067] 25 rectangular profile [0068] 26 pedestal