I think it is a matter for the craftsman or experimenter perhaps, but
how do you decide when to oak a red wine and when do you leave it
natural? I guess this applies most to people who are adding oak to a
wine rather than those who store in oak barrels.

I just fermented a single gallon from my father in laws unknown
sprawling vine. It's nice, I can't tell immediately post fermentation
if it would benefit from oaking next y ear so I thought I'd stick a
finger in the wind and see if any of you experts might throw me a
bone?

Jim

jim wrote:

I think it is a matter for the craftsman or
experimenter perhaps, but how do you decide when
to oak a red wine and when do you leave it
natural? I guess this applies most to people
who are adding oak to a wine rather than those
who store in oak barrels.

I just fermented a single gallon from my father
in laws unknown
sprawling vine. It's nice, I can't tell
immediately post fermentation if it would
benefit from oaking next y ear so I thought I'd
stick a finger in the wind and see if any of you
experts might throw me a bone?

Jim

Here is a thought. You like the wine, right?
If you did not like the wine, you would have
nothing to loose but since you like it, consider
leaving well enough alone.

Here is a thought, I know it sounds weird but just
for grins you could put a few oak chips in a
single bottle when you bottle it and let it sit a
couple months and try that single bottle. Of
course you would have to figure out how much (how
little) to add to a single bottle.

Next year try to make two gallons and oak one.

On Sep 30, 9:15 pm, "Paul E. Lehmann" wrote:
jim wrote:
I think it is a matter for the craftsman or
experimenter perhaps, but how do you decide when
to oak a red wine and when do you leave it
natural? I guess this applies most to people
who are adding oak to a wine rather than those
who store in oak barrels.

I just fermented a single gallon from my father
in laws unknown
sprawling vine. It's nice, I can't tell
immediately post fermentation if it would
benefit from oaking next y ear so I thought I'd
stick a finger in the wind and see if any of you
experts might throw me a bone?

Jim

Here is a thought. You like the wine, right?
If you did not like the wine, you would have
nothing to loose but since you like it, consider
leaving well enough alone.

Here is a thought, I know it sounds weird but just
for grins you could put a few oak chips in a
single bottle when you bottle it and let it sit a
couple months and try that single bottle. Of
course you would have to figure out how much (how
little) to add to a single bottle.

Next year try to make two gallons and oak one.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I use roughly 1 ounce per gallon which is more than a lot of people
recommend, so 6 grams is what I would use in one bottle. Start at 3
and see what you think.

Joe

Excellent!

Thanks for the advice Paul and Joe

Jim

On Oct 1, 10:31 pm, Joe Sallustio wrote:
On Sep 30, 9:15 pm, "Paul E. Lehmann" wrote:



jim wrote:
I think it is a matter for the craftsman or
experimenter perhaps, but how do you decide when
to oak a red wine and when do you leave it
natural? I guess this applies most to people
who are adding oak to a wine rather than those
who store in oak barrels.

I just fermented a single gallon from my father
in laws unknown
sprawling vine. It's nice, I can't tell
immediately post fermentation if it would
benefit from oaking next y ear so I thought I'd
stick a finger in the wind and see if any of you
experts might throw me a bone?

Jim

Here is a thought. You like the wine, right?
If you did not like the wine, you would have
nothing to loose but since you like it, consider
leaving well enough alone.

Here is a thought, I know it sounds weird but just
for grins you could put a few oak chips in a
single bottle when you bottle it and let it sit a
couple months and try that single bottle. Of
course you would have to figure out how much (how
little) to add to a single bottle.

Next year try to make two gallons and oak one.- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

I use roughly 1 ounce per gallon which is more than a lot of people
recommend, so 6 grams is what I would use in one bottle. Start at 3
and see what you think.

Joe

Oh, and I am talking about chips or beans; the stuff that looks like
sawdust imparts a strong 'wood' taste and is not something I like to
use.

Joe

Thanks for clarifying Joe. I made a select Pinot Noir kit recently
that used both the powdered and chipped forms of oak. I presume both
are available from my winemaking store - but I will bear in mind the
woodiness of the powdered version.

Jim

On Oct 2, 10:07 pm, Joe Sallustio wrote:
Oh, and I am talking about chips or beans; the stuff that looks like
sawdust imparts a strong 'wood' taste and is not something I like to
use.

Joe

I used the infusion spirals with wonderful success
https://www.thebarrelmill.com/spirals.html

On Tue, 02 Oct 2007 22:15:22 -0000, jim wrote:

Thanks for clarifying Joe. I made a select Pinot Noir kit recently
that used both the powdered and chipped forms of oak. I presume both
are available from my winemaking store - but I will bear in mind the
woodiness of the powdered version.

Jim

On Oct 2, 10:07 pm, Joe Sallustio wrote:
Oh, and I am talking about chips or beans; the stuff that looks like
sawdust imparts a strong 'wood' taste and is not something I like to
use.

Joe

wrote:

I used the infusion spirals with wonderful
success
https://www.thebarrelmill.com/spirals.html

On Tue, 02 Oct 2007 22:15:22 -0000, jim
wrote:

Thanks for clarifying Joe. I made a select
Pinot Noir kit recently
that used both the powdered and chipped forms of
oak. I presume both are available from my
winemaking store - but I will bear in mind the
woodiness of the powdered version.

Jim

On Oct 2, 10:07 pm, Joe Sallustio
wrote:
Oh, and I am talking about chips or beans; the
stuff that looks like sawdust imparts a strong
'wood' taste and is not something I like to
use.

Joe


There is at least one winery here in N. VA., Md
area that is using the spirals. I have tasted
the wine and it is very good. Some of the
wineries out here buy new barrels after just
three years. I personally think this is a waste
but to each his own. It might be possible to
pick up a so called "Spent" barrel and use
Spirals for years to come.

I went to the Maryland Wine Festival a couple
weeks ago and tasted a number of red wines. They
all tasted the same - like a new barrel.

There was very little to NO varietal character to
the wines. It was virtually impossible to tell
the difference between a Merlot, Cabernet Franc
and Cabernet Sauvignon. Even the Chambourcin
tasted the same. I guess some people think that
this is the way wine is suppose to taste and has
become the defacto standard. Luckily we can
tailor the wines to our individual taste.