oakiing during clearing

[tonyt]

This past weekend was big wine making weekend. Clearing and stabilizing my Cabernet/Shiraz Australian, MM Renaissance and Brunello, RJS Cru Select kits and racking the recently clear Yakima Syrah w/grape pack, CC Showcase kit. I guess it was too much to do over two afternoons. Half way through racking the the Cab/ Shiraz back into carboy to settle out I realized I had already hung the American Oak spiral in the carboy that I planned to add during aging. I stopped racking and retrieved the oak spiral, rinsed it with water, sanitized and hung out to dry. Then I proceeded with the transfer to glass. That started me to wonder what ill effects, if any, the oak and clearing agents would have had on each other or the wine. I started to leave the oak in while clearing but not being as adventurous as Joeswine I pulled it. Any thoughts on what might have happened had I left it?

 

[robie]

Sounds like you had a big wine weekend! I tried to bottle one of my wines, but it ended up needing some additional treatment. At least I got 31 bottles cleaned, which is the worse part for me. This way next time all I will have to do is sanitize, bottle, and cork.

Clearing is a negative to positive charge and particle attraction process, by which the sediment is dragged to the bottom. I don't think the spiral or the clearing agents would have any negative affect on each other.

However, IMO, it would be easier to control the amount of oaking if the spiral is added "after" the wine is cleared, because when you taste sample for oakiness, there would not be any sediment to taste or with which to contend.

 

[tonyt]

Sounds like you had a big wine weekend!

Too big as it turns out, need to pay more attention . . . Trying to get my production cough up with my consumption!

 

[Wade E]

I dont think it would have any effects at all myself but it will probably need to be rinsed off and added again when the wine is racked off the fining agents.

 

[PeterZ]

Many kits come with oak chips that are designed to be added when racking to the secondary. It's no problem to add supplemental oak at that time. I do it all the time.