Oak power vs. oak ... granules?

[krahm]

Hi, all. This is my second kit (WineExpert International Nero d'Avola). The kit has oak powder (which I know is supposed to go into the primary on day 1) and oak cubes (which I know come into play much later). But I've also got a bag of "French Oak," er, granules. Not quite power, not quite cubes, not quite chips. Should I be calling this "powder" and adding to primary, too? Thx, and sorry for the ignorant question!

 

[roger80465]

Not ignorant at all. Small pieces of oak give their all very quickly, thus are best suited for the primary, while larger pieces work more slowly. Anything chip size or smaller will almost always go into the primary. Keep the larger sized oak for clearing stages.

I have the Nero d'Avola on my radar as well. Keep us informed how this turns out.

 

[krahm]

Thanks for the considered response. I think I was confused a bit by the label, too (French oak). My understanding is that relatively little of the oak character will transfer over to the finish product when adding oak in primary--that this practice has more to do with adding mouth feel. So it seemed odd to be adding chips with particular flavor characteristics during primary. Perhaps I was misinformed.... At any rate, the batch is happily bubbling away.

 

[roger80465]

Thanks for the considered response. I think I was confused a bit by the label, too (French oak). My understanding is that relatively little of the oak character will transfer over to the finish product when adding oak in primary--that this practice has more to do with adding mouth feel. So it seemed odd to be adding chips with particular flavor characteristics during primary. Perhaps I was misinformed.... At any rate, the batch is happily bubbling away.

You will get some oak flavors when added to the primary but mostly you will get tannins and other compounds that are extracted from the oak by the alcohol and yeast. As a result, the smaller pieces of oak work well. They are often one dimensional flavors and don't offer much complexity so they are perfect for primary. The oak 'aging' characteristic comes during clearing and are best suited for cubes, staves, sticks or spirals where you can get the characteristics of the 'toast' used, but also other characteristics extracted from the oak deeper within the product. This adds far more interest to the wine. Have fun and don't be afraid to experiment.