ENOTOOLS10 to save 10%.EBX Barrel Protect applies an oenological tannin solution to preserve and protect your barrels between fills. It's sprayed, not burned: with no sulfur wick, your next wine gets the SO2 you chose and nothing else. It minimizes labor, reduces sulfites, reduces workplace risk, and extends the life of the barrel.
- No sulfite, no ozone, no UV
- Protection for up to three months
- Fights Brettanomyces and spoilage bacteria and yeasts
- No sensory impact on the wine
- No risk to operators: no toxic vapors
- Rinses out with no residue
- Extends barrel life and resale value
- Patented; used on 50,000+ barrels since 2018
- Certified organic (Ecocert, EC & NOP)
- Compliant with the Oenological Codex
Recommended Dosage
- 35 mL per barrel, on a sound, clean barrel with no blisters
- Spray right after scalding, while the barrel is still hot; let it rest at least 1 hour, then bung and store
- Batches treat 30 or 150 barrels (225 L)
How It Works
It isn't a preservative or a disinfectant. It forms a natural barrier that stops microbes from sticking to the wood. Research at the University of Bordeaux (the FILMBRETT project) showed that Brettanomyces anchors itself to barrel surfaces and forms protective biofilms that resist cleaning, shield Brett from sanitizers, and recontaminate wine fill after fill. Some Brett strains can even become resistant to SO2.
Barrel Protect's reactive natural tannins change the wood's surface so Brett can't anchor, tie up the proteins and sugars Brett uses to build a biofilm, and create a microenvironment unfavorable to spoilage yeasts and bacteria. After rinsing, the protective layer comes off with no residue. Read the science.
Scalding Is Key
Like any natural process, it depends on the person doing the work. The better the barrel is scalded and cleaned first, the more effective Barrel Protect becomes. How to clean barrels.
How to Use It
- What you need: an air compressor with at least a 5-gallon pressure tank, the EBX spray gun, and Barrel Protect for the number of barrels you'll store.
- Make the solution: dissolve the whole sachet in non-calcareous water. The 230 g sachet makes 1 liter; the 1.15 kg sachet makes 5 liters. Warm water at 122–158 °F (50–70 °C) dissolves it faster. Stir hard.
- Let it hydrate 15–30 minutes at room temperature, then stir again.
- Calibrate the gun: 5 bar, 35 mL in 7 seconds.
- Fill the tank and spray. Use the solution within 3 hours.
Full details in Amedee's how-to-use guide and on the Barrel Protect product page.
Questions & Answers
What is Barrel Protect, and does it really replace sulfur wicks?
EBX Barrel Protect is sprayed inside an empty barrel to keep it sound between wines, in place of burning a sulfur wick. Unlike a wick, it passes no SO2 to the next wine, so the SO2 in your tank is only what you chose to add, which matters for low-SO2 programs. It also acts on microbes living in the wood, including Brettanomyces, which hides in the first few millimeters of the stave where rinsing cannot reach. There is no flame or wick residue, and a dedicated spray gun is available.
Why is an empty barrel so vulnerable, and what does Barrel Protect not do?
Between wines a barrel is damp and full of residual sugar, alcohol and nutrients trapped in the wood, ideal conditions for Brett and acetic bacteria, and biofilms in the wood survive pressure washing and hot water. Older barrels are most at risk because they give the wine the least protection. Barrel Protect addresses the part you can control, but it does not restore the oak character of a spent barrel; that is a separate question about what the barrel still delivers.
Adapted from US Amedee’s Questions & Answers, where you can search every answer in full.