WineXpert Barolo Oak Question

[Jwatson]

I received my Selection Estate Barolo today. There are 4-5 oak packets, some labeled premium, some labeled toasted. The instructions say to add all packets into the primary fermenter. Will the 5-7 days of fermentation on all the oak give enough flavor? I know some kits have additional oaking during later stages.

 

[Dugger]

The included oak packs will give the oak profile generally intended for this kit and the extraction will be achieved in the bucket because the oak is in sawdust form. Oaking is a personal thing so if you wished to add addtional oak you can put cubes, sticks or spirals in the carboy and remove when your desired level is reached. If you don't really know what oak profile you will like, you should probably just go with the included oak.

 

[Jwatson]

Thanks...there is a lot oak in the kit, so I'll just go with it

 

[ibglowin]

Wow that's a lot of packs o oak!

 

[phermenter]

I made the WE Limited Edition Petit Verdot, and it came with four 30g packets. Even at 6 months, it's not that oaky. I'd say dump em in.

Jim

 

[Wade E]

Oak supplied in kits has never IMO made anyone say its too much. They supply enough to add a nice touch to each kit but for most instances is not enough for me in big wines like a Cab. I almost always add more then supplied. That being said I dont add more to wines that would be more on the fruity side.

 

[jdeere5220]

More of a general question on adding Oak-

I bought a bag of "toasted oak" at my local FOP shop, with the intention of adding to a few kits to see if I could tell a difference. I had two problems:

1) The oak is much larger chunks, so it just floats in the primary. My guess is it didn't do much.

2) I also tried adding to secondary but then I got the chunks stuck in my racking cane during later rackings. It was a real pain trying to get those chunks out of my racking cane!

I was thinking of using a permeable bag with some marbles in it to keep the oak contained and also sink it to the bottom in either the primary or secondary. Any thoughts?

One more thing: Do you sanitize the oak before you add it? If so, how?

 

[ibglowin]

Does your racking cane have the anti-sediment cover? If not get one of those as they are a necessity in this hobby/obsession.

The larger Oak cubes or Beans as they are sometimes called will take much longer to extract (and sink) than the chips but they will over time (sink) which is a pretty good indicator of full extraction.

Most people leave them in (Carboy) for 2-3 months with tasting along the way to check for your preferred oak level which is a very personal thing let me tell you!

There is no need to sanitize the oak. You can if you want to by soaking it in some K-meta but no one has ever reported a problem due to tossing in an un-sanitized bag of oak chips.

 

[robie]

Does your racking cane have the anti-sediment cover? If not get one of those as they are a necessity in this hobby/obsession.

The larger Oak cubes or Beans as they are sometimes called will take much longer to extract (and sink) than the chips but they will over time (sink) which is a pretty good indicator of full extraction.

Most people leave them in (Carboy) for 2-3 months with tasting along the way to check for your preferred oak level which is a very personal thing let me tell you!

There is no need to sanitize the oak. You can if you want to by soaking it in some K-meta but no one has ever reported a problem due to tossing in an un-sanitized bag of oak chips.

Yep, good advice.
Concerning oak added during bulk again, I have heard it said that during bulk aging, with oak in the carboy, taste the wine every few weeks. When it seems you might have just a little too much oakiness (just a little!), take the oak out. By the time you rack, bottle, and let the bottles settle in, your oak will be just right. This works for me, anyway.