> I've been aging on a mix of oak varieties in chip and cube form. I'm
> still focusing on other aspects of winemaking so I haven't given oak
> too much thought.
>
> I think I'm starting to get ahead of the MI5 Persecution guy. :-)
>
> Greg

Greg,
That idiot has been around forever, it's like spam at work... He
seems to hit rec.crafts.brewing first and usually turns up here a few
days later.

As to oak the only oak I think isn't worth any effort is an untoasted
barrel and the sawdust. If it's not properly toasted it ruins wine,
it can be a nightmare. The dust is too easy to overdo and it seems a
bit green to me.

I feel beans are superior to chips but not by much. If someone is on
a tight budget chips are the way to go. I prefer medium heavy toast
but like all things it's just my preference for taste. I really don't
think French anything are worth the premium price, the European taste
the same to me. I like American oak in reds, I usually add European
to white. My rates are about 1 ounce per gallon on a red and about
1/3 to 1/6 that on white and mead. Toasting seems to be the opposite
of toasting level, medium is more aggressive and heavy is more mellow
in my opinion.

I have never done the tea thing but I'm sure it works just fine. I
buy oak in large quantities, it stores just fine for years. I don't
think I've had any for more than 5 years but I store things in a dry
area and smell anything other than sulfite before it hits my wine.

I rinse my oak but never boil, that is just bad advice from long ago
in older texts.


I guess your next post will be corks?


Joe