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Doug Miller[_2_]

In article s.com>, (atc5016) wrote:
>
>Hello All,
>
>I am new to the wine making process. I am starting my first kit which is
>a wineexperts Mezza Luna Red. I
>noticed it came with 2 packets of oak chips. After reading the
>instructions it seems to me that 5 days is
>not long enough to get a nice oak flavor from these chips. Would it be
>okay to add half of the chips on the
>initial fermentation and then add the second packet after the first
>racking into the secondary fermentor.
>Would this be better or worse or would it not matter?

It matters very much. What you do depends on how much oak flavor you like in
your wine. The longer the oak chips are in contact with the wine, the stronger
the oak flavor (as you've already deduced). It seems to me that using the
chips only during the primary fermentation doesn't lend much oak flavor at
all. I've experimented with adding one packet during primary, and the other in
secondary, and I find I like that better.

Doug Miller[_2_]

In article >, (Doug Miller) wrote:
>In article s.com>,
> (atc5016) wrote:
>>
>>Hello All,
>>
>>I am new to the wine making process. I am starting my first kit which is
>>a wineexperts Mezza Luna Red. I
>>noticed it came with 2 packets of oak chips. After reading the
>>instructions it seems to me that 5 days is
>>not long enough to get a nice oak flavor from these chips. Would it be
>>okay to add half of the chips on the
>>initial fermentation and then add the second packet after the first
>>racking into the secondary fermentor.
>>Would this be better or worse or would it not matter?
>
>It matters very much. What you do depends on how much oak flavor you like in
>your wine. The longer the oak chips are in contact with the wine, the stronger
>the oak flavor (as you've already deduced). It seems to me that using the
>chips only during the primary fermentation doesn't lend much oak flavor at
>all. I've experimented with adding one packet during primary, and the other in
>secondary, and I find I like that better.

Couple more things about that:
1. It's always easy to add more oak chips later if you think the oak flavor
isn't strong enough. Kinda hard to take it out if you think it's too strong;
about the only thing you can do is to blend the wine with another batch of the
same stuff that hasn't been oaked.
2. If you need more oak chips, you can probably get them at the same dealer
where you bought the kit. If not, there are certainly plenty of online
sources, e.g.
http://www.greatfermentations.com
http://midwestsupplies.com

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