# Boneheaded oaking mistake - aaaarrrgghghh!



## Brewgrrrl (Sep 19, 2009)

Never work with fermentables when you are tired. This is what I learned today... (or re-learned, since this isn't the first stupid mistake I made when tired).

Today, I racked over and de-gassed five six-gallon batches of full juice fruit and grape wines and meads (that I also had to drag up from the basement into the upstairs kitchen to work with so I was pretty wiped out). The two batches I wanted to add oak to were the last two. Tired but seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, I boiled the oak chips for the Pinot Noir, poured them into the carboy, racked over... and then realized I hadn't drained the chips (I THOUGHT something looked strange about that 1/2 cup of brown liquid that went in with the chips). Oh no no no no... :-O

Has anyone else ever done this? Is there any reason to be optimistic about this working out all right in the end (don't lie to me, but if there is hope...)? I tasted it, and the poor delicate Pinot has been well bittered by the oak liquid. Argh. I keep seeing that character from, "Sideways," in my head talking about how careful you have to be with Pinot...

:-(


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## AlFulchino (Sep 19, 2009)

any chance that it did not mix thoroughly and settled into a layer before homogonizing? so that you could siphon off?

i am also wondering about the possibility of boiling off the excess water ....this is a tough one

ps i never do anything but take the chips out of the bag and use...i do not boil


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## Brewgrrrl (Sep 20, 2009)

Sadly, it mixed thoroughly. :-(

Until these batches, I'd only made kits so I'd never boiled the chips either (with kits I think you always just dump the stuff in). These chips were from a 1lb bag I'd bought when I decided to try juice pails.


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## grapeman (Sep 20, 2009)

I have to ask why you boiled the chips? To sterilize? There is no need to sterilize the chips unless you stored them in terrible conditions. If they come from a bag, take out what you need and reseal in a large ziplock bag.


When you boiled them you extracted the tannins, so all you did was add in all the tannins from the chips. If you had dumped the water out, you would have dumped out all the tannins and introduced neutral chips that would do nothing. It should be alright, but may be overoaked for a while. How many chips did you add per carboy?


Don't freak out at this point. There is a good chance it will be alright, but may take a while to mellow back out.


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## Wade E (Sep 20, 2009)

I agree with appleman but must say you might have over oaked the wine at beyond what a Pinot should be but at thism point its hard to tell as you should have a little more oak flavor then what you want as it will settle in a smooth out opposite of sweetening which would be more present later.


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## AlFulchino (Sep 20, 2009)

we all make some mistakes....and it always hurts when we do it...but just like the sun coming up tomorrow...there is a new harvest or kit around the corner


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## Brewgrrrl (Sep 20, 2009)

Appleman - I boiled the chips because I made the mistake of actually reading the DIRECTIONS. (well, at least the first part because when I looked later they did say to DRAIN - argh)

I've been a brewer for years so sanitation has never been a problem (i.e. no "terrible conditions" in either my storing or use of materials).

Poor little pinot... I hope it pulls through and I'll let you know in a couple of months.


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## Brewgrrrl (Sep 20, 2009)

BTW - what do you all think of, if it is over-oaked, maybe blending with another wine at bottling?


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## AlFulchino (Sep 20, 2009)

i have an idea....on your next kit that c alls for reconstituting w water...dont...maybe you get a similar wine kit that needs water...and you combine-em


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## Goodfella (Nov 15, 2009)

Hey Brewgrrrrl...


Any updates on how this wine is doing?


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## Waldo (Nov 16, 2009)

Brewgrrrl said:


> BTW - what do you all think of, if it is over-oaked, maybe blending with another wine at bottling?






I would let it bulk age for a while and see if it won't soften out. Im sure the boiling extracted more tannins than just normal contact would have and if itdoesn't mellow out with aging then worse case scenario is to blend it


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## Brewgrrrl (Nov 17, 2009)

Well, I tried something a bit unorthodox (I know - how unusual). I added a few ounces of rehydrated dried elderberries when I racked it and it's been sitting on those ever since. I was going to rack it over this weekend and see how it's doing - I'll post an update when I do that.


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## ratflinger (Nov 22, 2009)

Brewgrrrl said:


> Well, I tried something a bit unorthodox (I know - how unusual). I added a few ounces of rehydrated dried elderberries when I racked it and it's been sitting on those ever since. I was going to rack it over this weekend and see how it's doing - I'll post an update when I do that.








You could give it to me - I have a few ideas on a resurrection.


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## Goodfella (Dec 18, 2009)

What are your ideas?


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## Waldo (Dec 19, 2009)

I thinkhis idea is trying filtering it through kis kidneys


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## AlFulchino (Dec 19, 2009)

and depositing in his liver


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## boozinsusan (Feb 4, 2010)




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## clawrence111 (Mar 28, 2011)

OK - the last update from *Brewgrrrl* was almost a year and half ago. whatever became of this batch of Pinot?


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