# oaking



## bcritter (Jul 27, 2004)

*been reading about oaking*


*cant find much on oak that is light toasted.*


*what kind of flavors?*


*what wine to try?*


*medium oak brings vanilla flavor*


*dark oak brings coffee flavor.*


*any feed back would be appreciated*


*thanks*


*bill*


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## bdavidh (Jul 28, 2004)

I can't help you there, but I can add some more questions.


When adding oak, how long do you let it age with the oak?


When's the best phase?


Just during fermenting?


Or is bulk aging the best time, as if it was aging in oak barrels?


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## geocorn (Jul 28, 2004)

I will have to do some research on the different flavors, but as to when to use the oak, I do have some comments.


I add 20-25 oak beans during bulk aging. They are usually used up in 30 days, so if you want more oak flavor, you can just add more beans every 30 days until you get the level of oakiness that you want.


So far, I have had the best success with the heavy toast. I have been able to add a little extra oak flavor, but the real benefit seems to be in the added body. It must be the tannins in the oak.


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## Hippie (Jul 29, 2004)

I have only ever used the medium plus toast american beans and the medium plus toast french chips. I use the chips in primary and the oaks from secondary on through bulk aging. At each racking, I rinse and readd the beans. In some wines I have used 30 beans per gallon and left in contact with wine for 4 months. The flavor profiles range from buttery to vanilla to chocolate to coffee to just plain smoky. In one wine, I describe it as smoky vanilla. Sometimes it can be subtle and sometimes it can stand out bold. You should taste every 2-4 weeks and take out when the level of oakiness is to your liking. Using oak chips in a primary fermentation will give more subtle interesting tones and beans in bulk aging will be more pronounced. I am anxious to trythe light toast french beans in red fruit wines, or maybe in a pear wine, chardonnay style.Something a little unorthodox. *Edited by: Country Wine *


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## bcritter (Jul 30, 2004)

THANKS EVERYONE FOR THE INFO





BILL C


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## bcritter (Aug 2, 2004)

I have read some more on oaking.


The lighter toasted oak is supposed to yield


in American oak a coconut flavor


in French Oak a vanilla. flavor.


Thanks


bill c


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## bdavidh (Aug 2, 2004)

What about the medium and heavy roasted ones? Any links to your readings?


I'm curious why the different flavors, whether it's the earth the trees grow in, or the way it's aged.


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## bcritter (Aug 3, 2004)

THERE IS A ARTICLE IN GRAPESTOMPERS.COM THAT WAS GREAT AND AT THE END ARE REFERENCEs TO MORE ARTICLES WHICH A GREAT AS WELL. www.grapestompers.com/articles/oak_wine.htm thats oak_wine.htm. 


also on google type in oaking wine and that web site will come up.


hope that helps


bill c.


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## bdavidh (Aug 4, 2004)

Cool, thanks. Although I didn't see anything about red vs white oak. Anybody notice a different between the two? Any oak chips/beans/powder I've seen seems to be red oak.


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## bcritter (Aug 4, 2004)

Here is a story on oaking 
So how does oak affect the flavour of the finished wine? For red wines, barrels often add a little spice, enhance the structure, and may add some sweet vanillin characters. A white wine that has been fermented and aged in barrels will often have a noticeable nutty, buttery character along with the spice and vanilla characteristics that reds often pick up. Barrel aged wines are generally a little more complex and have a more interesting texture than those aged in tank, although some white grape varieties, such as Riesling and Sauvignon Blanc rarely benefit from being oaked. 
www.wineanoak.com/allaboutoak.htm
thanks 
billc<?:NAMESPACE PREFIX = O /><O></O>


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## Hippie (Aug 6, 2004)

bdavidh, it is all white oak. The American oak is usually form Missouri, Arkansas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Canada. I think mostly Missouri.


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## bdavidh (Aug 8, 2004)

I should have known that. My dad has a few hundred acres in S. Mo. which is mostly white oak. Thearea gets timbered about every 25 years to harvest the oak, which from seeing the aftermath, it's all white oak.


I'll have to support the area and stick with american oak.


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## geocorn (Aug 9, 2004)

The StaVin Oak Cubes (Beans) have arrived and are now listed in the Online Catalog. You can use the following link to go right to the cubes.


 [url]http://www.finevinewines.com/ProdListSub.asp?GC_Category=Ing redients&amp;SubCategory=Oak[/url]


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