Thanks Folks-

I believe I will purchase a small quantitiy of eVoak chips- they have a
free 'trial' kit and the aromas from their chips are just wonderful.
This way I can do double blinds again...

Is it unusual for the cap to be about 10 to 20 degrees warmer than the
wine it's soaking in? When I punch it down (by hand and by pot) it's
reading about 88 F, but the liquid is down around 70 F. I'm using a
small oil filled space heater in between the two trashcans (picture to
follow) to keep them warm.

Jason

bobdrob wrote:
> I agree with joe- we used stavin before we bought a barrel & always got
> compliments on the product. plus the cubes are way easier to deal with all
> around...
>
> the beauty of grappa ( now there's a bold statement!) is that it is what it
> is: Firewater. wa-hoo!
>
> "Joe Sallustio" > wrote in message
> ups.com...
> >> Our council sez: skip the ibuprofen, get some grappa instead and don't
> >> fret too
> >> much! HTH
> >
> > Grappa... now that's a mans drink. The stuff i have has was
> > closer to moonshine than brandy.
> >
> > Seriously, if you use that powdered oak go easy, a little goes a long
> > way. I would use the beans over that, StaVin is not even close to the
> > same thing at imparting flavors, it's much better than oak dust as far
> > as i am concerned.
> >
> > Joe
> >