My 11 gallons of Pinot Noir is now too oakey for my tastes, funny thing is I
liked the taste at the point when I took it off the oak chips. Not sure why
now its too woody, but it is. Are there any suggestions for reducing this?

Tom

Time. The woody character dissipates over time; after a year you probably
won't notice it at all. Rack it a couple of times before bottling, too.

This might be frustrating if you were planning to drink it soon, but pinot
is a varietal that ages very nicely, and you'll find other flavors and bouquets
developing as well.


Tom wrote:
> My 11 gallons of Pinot Noir is now too oakey for my tastes, funny thing is I
> liked the taste at the point when I took it off the oak chips. Not sure why
> now its too woody, but it is. Are there any suggestions for reducing this?
>
> Tom
>
>

You can age it a long time or you can blend it with a less oaky wine. I
think that is about it.

Ray

"Tom" > wrote in message
...
> My 11 gallons of Pinot Noir is now too oakey for my tastes, funny thing is
I
> liked the taste at the point when I took it off the oak chips. Not sure
why
> now its too woody, but it is. Are there any suggestions for reducing
this?
>
> Tom
>
>

"Tom" > wrote in message
...
> My 11 gallons of Pinot Noir is now too oaky for my tastes, funny thing is
I
> liked the taste at the point when I took it off the oak chips. Not sure
why
> now its too woody, but it is. Are there any suggestions for reducing
this?

Aside from time (which will greatly diminish the taste of oak), you might
try fining it with gelatin and/or skim milk. Each of those acts to reduce
apparent oakiness. Do some bench trials first on a bottle size portion.
I'd try these:

1 lb/1000 gal. bentonite + 1 lb/1000 gal. kieselsohl

1 lb/1000 gal. bentonite + 1 lb/1000 gal. kieselsohl + ¼ lb /1000 gal
gelatin

1 lb/1000 gal. bentonite + 1 lb/1000 gal. kieselsohl + ½ lb /1000 gal
gelatin

1 lb/1000 gal. bentonite + 1 lb/1000 gal. kieselsohl + 1qt/1000 gal skim
milk

1 lb/1000 gal. bentonite + 1 lb/1000 gal. kieselsohl + 1qt/1000 gal skim
milk + ¼ lb/1000 gal gelatin

Be sure to dilute the skim milk to a 10% solution with water before adding
to the wine, or it will form large curds as soon as it hits the wine and be
rendered somewhat ineffective. Prepare the gelatin as a 10% solution in
warm water before adding to the wine. Don't worry about the added water.
It doesn't amount to very much.

The bentonite and kieselsohl are there to prevent protein instability, which
Pinot Noir is susceptible to. I recommend those two even if you don't fine
with anything else. Prepare the bentonite by thoroughly mixing it into hot
water at about 50g/liter. Let it sit overnight to become completely
hydrated and shake well before using. You can just pour in the kieselsohl
(with stirring). IIRC 1 lb/1000 gal. is about 70 ml of the 30% solution (as
sold) in a 60 gallon barrel.

Be sure to stir the wine vigorously while _slowly_ adding any fining agents
you choose. Let the wine settle for at least a day before decanting the
clear portion for tasting evaluation.

Taste the samples alongside a control of untreated wine for reference. You
should be able to decide on a fining regimen for the entire batch by either
interpolating or extrapolating from the results of your tasting.

Do your tasting in the morning when your palate is fresh, before you eat or
drink coffee but after brushing your teeth and tongue with just warm water.
No toothpaste! Be sure to spit when tasting - at least until you make up
your mind on what you like. It's a good idea to have a friend or two help
you with the tasting trials as a sanity check, but don't discuss your
impressions until after you have each made up your minds. Good luck!

Tom S

Thanks Tom, I'll do some bench testing this weekend.

This is the first I've heard of Pinot Noir needing to be hot stabilized.
Admittedly, I am in my infant stages of wine making (5th year) but last
yearwas one of my first with fresh fruit. I had read only of the need to
stabilize whites.

Is Pinot the only red that has protein issues?

Tom

"Tom S" > wrote in message
m...
>
> "Tom" > wrote in message
> ...
> > My 11 gallons of Pinot Noir is now too oaky for my tastes, funny thing
is
> I
> > liked the taste at the point when I took it off the oak chips. Not sure
> why
> > now its too woody, but it is. Are there any suggestions for reducing
> this?
>
> Aside from time (which will greatly diminish the taste of oak), you might
> try fining it with gelatin and/or skim milk. Each of those acts to reduce
> apparent oakiness. Do some bench trials first on a bottle size portion.
> I'd try these:
>
> 1 lb/1000 gal. bentonite + 1 lb/1000 gal. kieselsohl
>
> 1 lb/1000 gal. bentonite + 1 lb/1000 gal. kieselsohl + ¼ lb /1000 gal
> gelatin
>
> 1 lb/1000 gal. bentonite + 1 lb/1000 gal. kieselsohl + ½ lb /1000 gal
> gelatin
>
> 1 lb/1000 gal. bentonite + 1 lb/1000 gal. kieselsohl + 1qt/1000 gal skim
> milk
>
> 1 lb/1000 gal. bentonite + 1 lb/1000 gal. kieselsohl + 1qt/1000 gal skim
> milk + ¼ lb/1000 gal gelatin
>
> Be sure to dilute the skim milk to a 10% solution with water before adding
> to the wine, or it will form large curds as soon as it hits the wine and
be
> rendered somewhat ineffective. Prepare the gelatin as a 10% solution in
> warm water before adding to the wine. Don't worry about the added water.
> It doesn't amount to very much.
>
> The bentonite and kieselsohl are there to prevent protein instability,
which
> Pinot Noir is susceptible to. I recommend those two even if you don't
fine
> with anything else. Prepare the bentonite by thoroughly mixing it into
hot
> water at about 50g/liter. Let it sit overnight to become completely
> hydrated and shake well before using. You can just pour in the kieselsohl
> (with stirring). IIRC 1 lb/1000 gal. is about 70 ml of the 30% solution
(as
> sold) in a 60 gallon barrel.
>
> Be sure to stir the wine vigorously while _slowly_ adding any fining
agents
> you choose. Let the wine settle for at least a day before decanting the
> clear portion for tasting evaluation.
>
> Taste the samples alongside a control of untreated wine for reference.
You
> should be able to decide on a fining regimen for the entire batch by
either
> interpolating or extrapolating from the results of your tasting.
>
> Do your tasting in the morning when your palate is fresh, before you eat
or
> drink coffee but after brushing your teeth and tongue with just warm
water.
> No toothpaste! Be sure to spit when tasting - at least until you make up
> your mind on what you like. It's a good idea to have a friend or two help
> you with the tasting trials as a sanity check, but don't discuss your
> impressions until after you have each made up your minds. Good luck!
>
> Tom S
>
>

"Integra" > wrote in message
...
> Thanks Tom, I'll do some bench testing this weekend.
>
> This is the first I've heard of Pinot Noir needing to be hot stabilized.
> Admittedly, I am in my infant stages of wine making (5th year) but last
> year was one of my first with fresh fruit. I had read only of the need to
> stabilize whites.
>
> Is Pinot the only red that has protein issues?

I'm not sure if it's the _only_ red that does. Some of the other, less
tannic reds may also exhibit protein instability.

Tom S

> My 11 gallons of Pinot Noir is now too oakey for my tastes, funny thing is I
> liked the taste at the point when I took it off the oak chips. Not sure why
> now its too woody, but it is. Are there any suggestions for reducing this?

You could fine with casein or gelatine to reduce the oak character.
(I'd be more inclined to go with casein as gelatine can be heavy for
Pinot.)

Ben

Tom,

very simple! Take the white of one egg, whisk it in a bowl, add some wine,
stir en add to the wine. Good for 60 litres of wine.Apply when you are going
to rack the wine within a day or two. It clears AND takes tannines away.
Test by tasting if you should repeat the treatment.

Ed


"Tom" > schreef in bericht
...
> My 11 gallons of Pinot Noir is now too oakey for my tastes, funny thing is
I
> liked the taste at the point when I took it off the oak chips. Not sure
why
> now its too woody, but it is. Are there any suggestions for reducing
this?
>
> Tom
>
>