I'm curious if anyone has used oak in juice concentrate wines?? I have been dabbling with making wine but with just juice concentrates but I don't really like the 'juiciness' of the wine and wondered if adding oak to the juice might tone down the juice flavor. Also, does anyone have a way to describe what light to plus-plus chips means as far as flavoring?? I see Amazon has some but looks more like shreds than chips...
RJ Spagnols Best time to add oak cubes to aging wine?
- Thread starter Kross
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Thanks, Bryan. I'll try 1.5 oz and see where it goes. I cannot honestly answer whether I like a heavy or light oak flavor. I'm not exactly certain that I know the difference. What I do know, however, is that I don't love the wine as it currently stands and I feel like it needs something else. I'm going to age it for at least 3 to 6 months more before I make any conclusions though. Might end up backsweetening the batch if I don't like it. I find that my wife is less picky when it comes to a sweet wine.
I have a WE Trinity Red that is about 3 weeks post ferment and it is already light years better than the 3 month cab.
I have a WE Trinity Red that is about 3 weeks post ferment and it is already light years better than the 3 month cab.
Juice/concentrate wines is a kit without all the extras. You can successfully add oak to any wine.
I got these descriptions from winemakersacademy.com:
The toast of the oak can range from barely being visible, to being completely charred. The most common toast levels are light, medium, medium plus, and heavy.
Lightly toasted oak retains much of the “woody” type flavor. Often a light toast will impart more tannins and green wood flavors.
A heavy toast is the most drastic toast you can put on oak. It results in a smoky flavor. One of my favorite Zinfandels has a stronger smoky taste that makes it seem like you’re drinking your wine in front of a campfire. While I can’t confirm they use a heavy toast I would presume it is.
Medium plus is somewhere between medium and heavy toasts. This is the darkest toast most wineries use, at least from what I’ve seen.
Shreds are good for fermentation oak, but are likely to impart too much oakiness during aging.
Makes sense. Also keep in mind that aging can make a tremendous difference in a wine. At 3 months a Cab is often no where near ready. 9 months from now you may not recognize it.
Taste the wines along the way and record your notes. This will teach you more than you may believe at this time.
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