Ye Laowu's home.
Ye Laowu was holding tools, clanging and banging non-stop.
Beside him, a lot of wood scrolls and sawdust fell...
There is a wooden barrel next to it.
This should be the finished oak barrel.
Ye Liuqing took the oak barrel and looked at it carefully.
Ye Laowu's wooden barrel is indeed well made.
Very detailed.
The barrel body is smooth without barbs, and the edges and corners are also fine.
That's right, this is for wine, not bath water.
Ye Liuqing frowned slightly.
When Ye Guozhu saw Ye Liuqing's expression, he knew something was wrong.
"Qing girl, is this oak barrel not good enough?" Ye Laowu has been making wooden barrels for many years and thinks that this barrel is very well made.
"Qing girl, tell me what's wrong and let Lao Wu fix it." Ye Guozhu felt that something was not right when he saw it before.
Ye Liuqing told him that the sealing must be good enough.
However, no matter how Ye Guozhu looked at this wooden barrel, he felt that it was not good.
Although there is a lid, it doesn't look very useful.
He has never made wine, but he has made rice wine!
This wooden barrel is absolutely perfect for bathing, but it's useless to use it to store wine.
"Uncle Wu, your craftsmanship is very good, but this oak barrel is not suitable for storing wine." Ye Liuqing was telling the truth.
This wooden barrel for storing wine is really different from ordinary wooden barrels.
It not only needs to be sealed, but also allows the wine to ferment better.
Therefore, there are great demands for this barrel.
The oak barrel made by Ye Laowu has good details, but the method is wrong.
"We've never seen this barrel used to store wine!" Ye Laowu scratched his head.
It’s really hard to do something you’ve never seen before.
Ye Liuqing was a little embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Uncle Wu, I've been too busy these past two days and haven't been able to explain this matter in detail to the village chief."
"This is my fault."
"It's okay, it's okay." Ye Laowu smiled naively.
Ye Liuqing held the bucket.
"Wait a minute, I'll think about what to do."
Ye Liuqing recalled the method her tour guide told her when she saw the oak barrels during her visit to the winery, as well as the general steps she saw in the oak barrel production workshop.
After looking around at the tools at Ye Laowu's place, Ye Liuqing had an idea in his mind.
It is impossible to follow the process of the winery, so we can only make slight changes.
“I remember how they did it.”
Ye Liuqing looked at the selected oak materials and picked out a few pieces of wood with tight and clearly visible textures.
This type of oak contains more tannins, so the wine can also obtain more tannins in the oak barrel.
Ye Laowu handled these oaks very experiencedly and dried them to a degree suitable for processing.
Wood cannot be made into anything simply by cutting it down.
Too much humidity, needs drying.
According to normal processing methods, they should be exposed to the sun and allowed to dry naturally.
But, I need it urgently now.
So, Ye Laowu used the drying method.
It just so happened that the kiln that Ye Liuqing had made before came in handy.
Look, after baking for a day and a night, we finally got the wood suitable for making barrels today.
Thanks to that, there is not much in the countryside except for firewood.
Otherwise, there is really no way to get it out.
In fact, a better drying method should be natural drying.
However, things are urgent now and we can't be so meticulous.
Therefore, Ye Liuqing had no objection to the method of drying the oak.
As for the next production method, after Ye Liuqing recalled it, he briefly explained the method.
First, the wood is roughly cut into strips of wood. The cut strips are placed one by one on the barrel ring, and the barrel hoop is put on one end to give the strips a preliminary shape.
These are similar to making ordinary wooden barrels.
Next comes the key.
Baking softens the wood so it can be bent more easily.
The interior of the oak barrel is toasted over an open flame. Toasted oak barrels have a more pronounced effect on the wine's color, aroma, flavor, and overall style. Different degrees of toasting can produce different styles of aging.
This step is crucial.
As for how far to bake it, Ye Liuqing was really at a loss.
After all, this involves too much professional knowledge, and Ye Liuqing really doesn't know it.
This will have to be tried carefully later.
Now, we have reached a certain level and can only grope around and make the roughest version.
After making grooves on the edge of the inner wall of the oak barrel, make a barrel cover according to the size of the oak barrel, and then embed the barrel cover into the groove at the end of the barrel. After installation, remove the process hoop and replace it with a new hoop.
Finally, drill holes, check sealing, grind and polish, etc.
Ye Liuqing's explanation made Ye Laowu understand a little.
When Ye Liuqing was speaking just now, Ye Laowu listened very carefully.
"Qing girl, let's do this!"
"I'll do it while you watch."
"That way, you'll know which step isn't working."
Ye Liuqing nodded.
That's a very good idea.
Ye Liuqing stayed at Ye Laowu's house all day.
Ye Liuqing was talking as Ye Laowu was making a wooden barrel.
As for Ye Guozhu, he didn't leave either. He stood aside and helped pass things.
There were two people, one old and one young, and no one knew how long they had been doing it. Anyway, Ye Guozhu saw that they both fell asleep in the end.
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