Looking for Advice for Oak Cask

[chrislea]

New to wine making...working on third 6 gal batch; 1 Vineco and 2 Winexpert kits.
All has gone well so far and am gaining confidence.
Just bought a med toasted 5 gal American Oak cask.
Looking for recommendations for my next wine-kit to take advantage of the cask.
Specfics welcome and the more prescriptive the better.
I have good access to Winexpert kits where I live..but kit type is not key...maximizing the cask investment is.

Thanx for any advice!

PS
We (wife and I) just gave our first bottle of wine present....what a great feeling, another dimension of wine making I didn't expect...

Regards
C.

 

[Rocky]

Welcome to the forum.

With a brand new cask, some people take the opportunity to make a white that will go through the cask first, like a Chardonnay or a Pinot Grigio. Once you use it for a red, you will be taking chances on whites coming out "rose'." If you do not like an oakey white, I would recommend a bold red like Old Vine Zinfandel or Cabernet Sauvignon from the 16L Estate Series of Winexpert. Also, they have just introduced their Selection International Series and I am waiting for my Nero D'Avola. These kits are 16.4L of juice witn 1.6L of grape skins. I recommend the high end kits. They are pricey compared to the smaller kits, but to me worth the money. Good luck.

 

[Wade E]

I fully agree with the above post entirely!!!!

 

[Tom]

Ditto

Ditto

Welcome

 

[chrislea]

Thank-You and another question(s)

Thank-You for your advice and encouragement!

If I'm able to get the Winexpert Nero D'Avola kit, how would you recommend the oak cask aging...i.e. what step?, bulk aging?, for how long?, how much to hold in reserve to account for oak cask absorbtion?, any other tricks/tips you have found helpful...

Also any advice where I may order the kit, if I'm unable to buy locally from our great homebrew store....

Again thanks in advance for any advice!

Regards
C.