On 6/21/04 5:14 AM, in article
, "Mark Garwatoski"
> wrote:

> That seems like a short amount of time. I'm used to letting Mead sit in
> secondary for 6-12months to clear and then bottle.
> Do the select kits come with oak cubes? Why would you add them to the
> primary instead of the secondary, shorter contact time?
>
> Thanks,
> Mark

A number of people have pointed out in this newsgroup, and I have confirmed
with my own tests, that adding oak to the primary results in a much better
integrated oak flavor in the final product. I have found adding oak after
fermentation results in a wine that . . Well . . Tastes like it has had oak
added. If added in the beginning, the oak harmonizes much more with the wine
and tastes like it is part of the wine, for lack of a better description. I
have wondered about this issue as I see lots of commercial wines being
fermented in steel and then aged in oak barrels. I have com to the
conclusion that oaking with chips or cubes is much different than aging in
barrels.

--
Greg Cook
http://homepage.mac.com/gregcook/Wine
http://homepage.mac.com/gregcook/aws

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