"Gary" > wrote in message
. com...
>I used Sta-Vin oak beans on a recent batch of red wine. I added them when
>I
> transferred from the primary to the secondary, and they were in the carboy
> for about 2 months. Today I racked the wine, and saved the oak beans
> (rinsed them and sanitized them). Can they be re-used? Is there enough
> oak
> essence to flavor more wine? Is there any danger that by adding these
> used
> oak beans, I will adversely affect the next batch?
>
> TIA for any help.
>
> Gary
>
> http://home.carolina.rr.com/winemaking/
>
>
I would not reuse them. If you read Stavin's write-up, they are designed to
be the right size to soak all of their oak out in a single use. Also, after
soaking for 2 months, wine will have soaked to the very center of the cube
(as designed). Sanitizing is not enough. You must protect them when
storing as you would a used barrel so they do not become infected after
sanitizing. They are not that expensive, Use new.

Now if you are going to use them immediately with no storage, that is a
different story. It may not help, but it would not hurt to add them to a
similar wine.

Ray