Extending the life of oak spirals?
- Thread starter Siwash
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The primary flavor which comes from the oak is tannins. Toasting will not create new tannin.
Toasting can create roasted or smoky or charcoal notes. FYI ,,, The browning reaction starts at 325F and occurs faster the higher the temperature.
Toasting can create roasted or smoky or charcoal notes. FYI ,,, The browning reaction starts at 325F and occurs faster the higher the temperature.
I've never heard of roasted or charcoal notes as desirable.. Smokey, yes. Are these desirable notes?
Roasted can be good ex. industry puts it in a lot of BBQ seasoning packets. It is not usually associated with wine and probably would mask ppb levels of fruity notes.
Charcoal is to be avoided in foods. ,, If done well activated charcoal will absorb some flavors/ aromas.
You original post was suggesting getting more life out of your oak. Again the vanilla notes were extracted into your first wine. I do not use much oak since the wife doesn’t like it. My look at smoky notes is that folks add them to mask loss of fruity notes.
Charcoal is to be avoided in foods. ,, If done well activated charcoal will absorb some flavors/ aromas.
You original post was suggesting getting more life out of your oak. Again the vanilla notes were extracted into your first wine. I do not use much oak since the wife doesn’t like it. My look at smoky notes is that folks add them to mask loss of fruity notes.
You could, if you had a way of removing the outer layer of wood. Then the newly exposed oak would give off some of the flavors you are looking for. Face the facts, oak spirals are just another associated cost of this hobby.
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Spencerthebuilder
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Spirals are cheap enough, but often using what is on hand is the choice. If you have, and can run a chop saw.. cut them into cubes or slices to expose fresh wood. The square inches of fresh surface might be 2/3 of the original. Roasting would also sanitize...
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I have switched over to using WineStix. These words from Daniel Pambianchi - "WineStix impart oak aromas/flavors and tannins at a much slower (and more ideal) rate than, for example, spirals. IMO, WineStix better replicate barrels in making silkier wines without overpowering oak." I leave them in the wine for upwards of 6-8 months while bulk aging and don't get any hint of over Oaked. I purchase them in bulk and they are about $4 per stick. Once used they are used up and gone.
Exposing fresh wood is only part of the equation. The toasting is critical to the flavoring ability, so simply cutting or sanding loses that.
Yeah that does make sense. The spirals are so expensive. I think I'll give the staves a chance again.
Thanks.
I use cubes because they are far more configurable (can easily vary amounts and mix types) and are significantly cheaper. They have the drawback that they are not as easy to remove, although some folks use a stainless steel tube to contain them. I drop 'em in the carboy or barrel and leave them for the duration, typically 3 to 12 months, and use smaller amounts to avoid over-oaking.
When done I dry them and re-use them .... in the smoker!
The amount depends on the wine, roughly 1/2 oz to 2 oz per 5 to 6 gallons. A heavy red might receive 2 oz, although I've recently been going a bit lighter. A light white or fruit would get 1/2 oz. A light red or dark fruit gets 1 oz.
When I add cubes, I leave them in for the duration -- anything from 3 to 12 months. After 3 months or so, the cubes are expended, so leaving them in makes no difference.
When tasting, gently stir the wine first an hour ahead. Wine has no convection currents, so the wine closest to the oak will be much heavier. To get an accurate taste, stirring is required.
Good question. For neutral barrels, I stir gently at topup every 4 to 5 weeks. For carboys, only at tasting.
The wine will be homogenized when you rack it out the container at bottling time. I always rack before bottling to avoid any remaining sediment, and to ensure the k-meta is well distributed.
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Where are you buying these six for $4? Most I see online are in the $12-$15 range
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https://stixalternatives.com/product/wine-stix-carboy/
You do have to buy the 25 pack, but they won't go bad. 25 for around $90.
