On Feb 18, 2:18*pm, AxisOfBeagles wrote:
Good feedback from Greg. I have not encountered any science on this
subject. For my own part, I neither boil nor sulfite oak before adding.
I use oak stave inserts into 15 gallon stainless kegs. I rinse them
well before putting into the wine, really only to remove dust and oak
debris. But I make sure that the wine is properly sulfited just before
oak addition.

Just finished racking about 86 gallons of wine this weekend, with 75 of
it now in SS kegs with oak inserts (5 staves in each, hung in a chain).
I love the smell of the oak (French, medium toast) after it is rinsed,
and as I'm about to put it into the wine. Always reminds me of a young
Bordeaux.

On 2008-02-18 11:04:41 -0800, said:



On Feb 18, 10:08*am, Wayne Harris wrote:
...
I know its good practice to boil corks prior to using, *so, *before i
add the cubes, should i boil them to kill off any bad critters?

You may inadvertently start a religious debate with those questions
and assumptions.

First, many don't boil corks, myself included. I almost always soak
them in a sulfite solution just prior to using, but that's a personal
preference of mine. Many wine makers don't take any extra steps at all
and simply insert them dry.

Regarding the oak cubes... I used to soak mine in a sulfite solution
but recently I stopped doing that. I do make sure, however, to add
sulfites when I add the oak cubes. Some home wine makers do boil their
oak cubes and chips, but this is all just a matter of habit and
preference. If you've maintained adequate sulfite levels, no extra
steps should be necessary. Keep in mind that if you do decide to boil
them it will greatly reduce the oak flavor imparted on the wine; some
flavor will be lost to the water.

Greg- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Axis -
Where do you get the stainless steel kegs?
I can't seem to find them around me in western PA.

I add oak cubes and don't do anything before I add them. So far I have
had no adverse effects.
Orlando