I don't care for a heavy oak taste -- a tiny bit is ok, as seasoning, not a flavoring.
Checking my notes -- the Zin kit included 66.6 g toasted oak cubes, which is 2.3 US ounces. I typically add 1 to 1.5 oz per 23 liters, so the kit is 1.5 times my normal maximum. My Zin absorbed the oak without making it a strong flavoring, due to the many other competing flavors. The wine has a fruitiness that was unexpected, but is very good.
I need to clarify a previous comment:
The instructions called for co-inoculating with RC-212 and EC-1118. I discussed it with @Matt_Pruszynski, and he agreed that starting with RC-212 then adding EC-1118 if/when the RC-212 quit was a good idea. This lets the RC-212 do its thing without interference from the EC-1118.
So that's what I did. The OG was 1.114 and the ferment stopped at 1.002.
The decision to inoculate with EC-1118 at that point was more intuition than fact -- the wine hit 1.002 and I decided to make the starter. The following morning the SG had not changed, so I inoculated. The SG finished at 0.995.
If anyone is interested, I documented the saga here.
