Pinocchio Barrique Bottle

Your wine cellar. Without the cellar.

Pinocchio, the little guy carved out of wood, is now the new cottage industry for ageing your own wines and spirits in the comfort of your home. Pinocchio Barrique Bottle allows you to be creative and experimental by taking your preferred wine or spirits and changing its flavours and concentration in just 3 to 15 days. Your drink. Your choice.

What is Pinocchio Barrique Bottle?

Pinocchio is a barrel ageing process in a bottle, a creative alternative to mass production. By utilising the popular 0.75 litres wine bottle size instead of the vineyard standard 225 litres barrel and following a few easy steps, you can soon enjoy the pleasures of your "own production." Small is indeed beautiful with Pinocchio Barrique Bottle.

Pinocchio Barrique Bottle represents continuity where Italian tradition, science, and innovation function in perfect unison, creating a new generation of wine makers in their very own home. It is what makes a bottle a barrique, which is why we don’t call our product a “barrel.” We call it Pinocchio Barrique Bottle because everyone knows that Pinocchio was Italian and made of wood.

European Oak

European oak is what makes a barrel a barrique. Oak from responsibly managed European FSC-certified forests is naturally seasoned outdoors for a minimum period of two years and once its ideal humidity is reached it it then processed according to traditional techniques. Pinocchio Barrique Bottle was created to take full advantage of European oak's qualities. It was designed to be as easy to use as it is easy on the eye.

Age Your Wine At Your Leisure

Have you always wanted to experience the thrill of being a wine producer but the barrels were too large for your cellar door?

• Pinocchio Barrique Bottle makes accessible to everyone the practices of maturation, fermentation, preservation, ageing, and flavouring of wines and spirits. This is due to the smaller size, lighter weight, and lower cost of production compared to a barrel.
• Pinocchio Barrique Bottle is fast! Just 10 days in Pinocchio are like 6 months in a barrel.
• Pinocchio Barrique Bottle can be reused multiple times.
• Pinocchio Barrique Bottle is naturally dry assembled and reaches a state of water resistance thanks to the natural expansion of wood in contact with a liquid.

A most unique gift for yourself and anyone who enjoys wine and spirits!

When you purchase the product you get a Pinocchio Barrique Bottle in a giftable presentation box, full instructions for use on a presentation card, two cards to record information about your wine or spirit and its ageing process, two natural cork stoppers, and a drinks coaster. (See additional image)

FAQ

WHY SHOULD I USE OAK TO AGE WINE, WHISKY, GRAPPA, OR BRANDY?

From golden hued Chardonnays to first-growth Bordeaux, the most expensive wines in the world are produced with oak ageing. The top fifty most expensive wines in the world oak-age their wines in some way. Oak is a crucial and often overlooked component of the alcoholic beverage world. Everything from the type, size, age, grain, and treatment of an oak barrel greatly affects the finished beverage.

WHAT DOES OAK ADD?

Besides making a cellar look cool, oak adds aroma compounds to wine such as vanilla, tea, spice and clove notes, caramel, sweet, charred, and smoky aromas.

HOW DOES PINOCCHIO BARRIQUE BOTTLE WORK?

Pinocchio Barrique Bottle works like a barrel but with a great little difference. Pinocchio contains 0,75 liters instead of 255 liters. That difference changes the final result of the equation between the wooden surface area that touchs the liquid inside. Essentially, the wooden surface area touches more liquid compared to a barrel and that accelerates the ageing process. That's it! Fifteen days inside Pinocchio Barrique Bottle to achieve the same result of 6 months in a barrel. 

HOW LONG IT TAKES FOR A GREAT RESULT?

The goal of the producer is to leave the beverage in contact with the wood for enough time to achieve an appreciable result. The bottle, due to its size and the alcohol's contact with the oak, will impart its flavour and structure more strongly and at a faster rate. You can choose - and taste-test - to determine whether 3 days or 15 days will result in the best improvement.

WHAT ARE THE IDEAL CONDITIONS FOR STORAGE?

A temperature around 12C. is ideal to maintain the proper rate of ageing for alcholic beverages. Humidity at around 65%-75% is ideal because a lower temperature will reduce the rate of evaporation of the wine or spirit. If too much evaporation occurs, you'll need to release the air produced to avoid oxidation of the wine.

HOW MANY TIMES CAN I USE MY PINOCCHIO BARRIQUE

A single Pinocchio Barrique can be used up to 70 years! After the first 4-5 uses the oak stops adding flavours and Pinocchio Barrique is considered ‘neutral.' The bottle is then a perfect fit for Sherry and Whisky producers. In fact, neutral bottles do not impart any structure or flavour, but can still be used to store wine and spirits and improve their quality through the  concentration of flavours.

HOW TO CLEAN PINOCCHIO?

The best way to clean out Pinocchio Barrique is a simple rinse and repeat cycle. It should always be washed immediately after a beverage is transferred out of it to prevent the growth of spoilage organisms. Wash Pinocchio Barrique out with hot water until all the deposits from the beverage have dissolved and run out of it. Don’t hesitate to repeat the procedure several times if necessary. Another option is to use sulfur to clean it thoroughly.

HOW TO STORE AN EMPTY PINOCCHIO BARRIQUE

Essentially the best way to store it is to keep it filled with  an alcoholic beverage. We know this is not always possible so if you do not plan to add more wine to your bottle within the next couple hours after emptying it then, once Pinocchio Barrique Bottle is completely dry and you have ensured that the bottle is completely drained dry and has no remaining water, you can leave the bottle empty.

THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND WHEN USING PINOCCHIO BARRIQUE

Taste your wine or spirit often, especially when using a new barrique bottle.  You’ll be surprised how fast oak flavours will build up in your new beverage.