Hi Everyone,

All these wines were made from California grapes.

I just racked my Zin and Syrah, Cab and Merlot today. No smelly Cab or
Merlot but the Syrah and Zin had quite a noticeable H2S smell. I
splashed and aerated quite a bit, hoping to get rid of the smell. I will
probably rack again in 3-4 weeks to try to get rid of the smell.
I would like to add my oak chips to all my wines, but the question is,
do I wait and try to get rid of the H2S smell before I add the oak, or
is it ok to add oak now, and maybe this will help in reducing the H2S
smell.
Last year I had a smelly Merlot, and after several rackings, it
dissapeared, then I oaked. I have heard the Zin and Syrah will benefit
from early oaking.

Your opinions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Dave

"Dave Stosky" wrote in message
...
Hi Everyone,

All these wines were made from California grapes.

I just racked my Zin and Syrah, Cab and Merlot today. No smelly Cab or
Merlot but the Syrah and Zin had quite a noticeable H2S smell. I
splashed and aerated quite a bit, hoping to get rid of the smell. I will
probably rack again in 3-4 weeks to try to get rid of the smell.
I would like to add my oak chips to all my wines, but the question is,
do I wait and try to get rid of the H2S smell before I add the oak, or
is it ok to add oak now, and maybe this will help in reducing the H2S
smell.

Adding oak now will neither help nor hurt your H2S problem. That's a
separate issue, and one you should address ASAP. Try stirring the wine with
a clean piece of copper pipe. That may work a miracle before your very
eyes - er, nose.

Tom S