Other Can you un-oak a red wine kits or is that wrong?

[Dino466]

I am not a big fan of heavy oak flavour. I guess I have a couple questions.
1) Can you de-oak a Vieux Château du Roi into a Chateau du Pays ( I hope that is the correct term cfan) without screwing up the kit.
2) I like the red with the grape packs and the only red without Oak I can find is a bergamis and they don't seem to come with a grape pack. Is there a kit that has no oak that I missed. The CC Chateau du Pays is a special order from where I buy.
I have experimented with a CC sterling Pinot Noir (grape pack) and cut the oak in half but I just started it so it will be some time before I can compare it to the same kit I made following the instructions. I have made a few kits but really don't think I have the skill to experment too much.

 

[Polarhug]

You don't *have* to add the oak, if that is your taste preference. It won't mess up the kit it just pushes the wine out of the style guideline.

That is the neat thing about making your own... YOU are drinking it, make it how YOU like it.

 

[cpfan]

Dino466:

In addition to not using the oak, you can also reduce the oak. That's something I've done with some kits that came with a LOT of oak.

Vieux Chateau du Roi is the CHWTA trademarked name for wines that are like Chateauneuf du Pape. Cellar Craft did not belong to the CHWTA, so they called their equivalent wine Chateau du Pays. The Cellar Craft Showcase Chateau du Pays is oak 1, so it does contain oak.

There are several wine kits that do not include oak. Some Pinot Noirs, for example. I suspect that reds that come with a grape pack will include oak.

 

[kat50496]

Dino466:

Vieux Chateau du Roi is the CHWTA trademarked name for wines that are like Chateauneuf du Pape. Cellar Craft did not belong to the CHWTA, so they called their equivalent wine Chateau du Pays. The Cellar Craft Showcase Chateau du Pays is oak 1, so it does contain oak.

CC's Chateau du Pays does come with oak, but only 30g of dust for primary, which seems only to provide some tannin and balance to the mix. I have it at one year and it is really a nice blend. I am not a fan of big oak, and this one suits my taste very well. Mine came out to 14% abv, with plenty of fruit, so it is more representative of a new world GSM (I did use a California GSM for topping) than a true old world Chateauneuf du Pape. I highly recommend this one.