oak suggestions?

[Vitis]

I have 6 gallons of California Merlot that I'd like to rack onto oak this evening. The wine is split between a 5 gallon and a 1 gallon carboy, so I thought I might oak the two portions separately and then blend them after aging. Was thinking of using lightly toasted french (winestix) on the 5 gallon. Would it be strange to use a heavy toasted hungarian on the 1 gallon portion? I have an assortment of cubes around of both french and hungarian, so I could do practically anything. Any suggestions on oak blends?

 

[Floandgary]

Good chance to experiment! Let YOUR tastebuds be your guide. May not want to blend later. Also keep detailed records. For the future, the only thing which may affect an outcome would be the quality of the grapes/juice.

 

[acorn]

I agree with Floandgary, I would keep them separate and add two different oak types to the two vessels. Or, you may want to oak one, but not the other. WineStix is a good choice for oaking, as with something like oak chips you have to be careful not to overdo the flavor.

 

[Wiz]

I make my 6 gallon batches same as you - 5 + 1. I add oak cubes to the 5 gallon carboy only and mix the two at the time of bottling.

 

[Vitis]

Thanks all. Put the 5 gallons on a light toast french oak stick, and the one gallon on dark toast hungarian oak cubes. Should be a fun comparison!

 

[menalek]

I recently added french medium roast oak and american oak into my 5 gal merlot, 5 gal cabernet sauvignon, tried after two weeks and it tastes great.