presoaking oak cubes

[heatherd]

Aside from all the physics and log jam debates, what happens to my oak cubes when I put them in at the same phase is that the must foams up a bit. When that foam recedes in a couple of days, the level is lower, and I top up with a similar wine. For me, that's fine because I don't want a wine volcano from the oak.

My wine volcanos always occur when adding tannin powder or oak staves/powder/cubes. Not sure why, but its consistent.

Could be you're having the same issue?

Heather

 

[roger80465]

You people are making my head hurt! I'm on the way to the wine cellar!

 

[muskie003]

Unfortunately your experiment has some other real-world effects that are dominating the result. In your case, the friction between the cubes and the carboy are causing a "log jam" of sorts at the neck. As a result, cubes that would otherwise be floating on the surface of the liquid are in fact pushed below the surface. The dominant effect is that low density cubes forced below the liquid level artificially raised the level. As the liquid soaks into the cubes and displaces air the net density increases and the liquid level drops as you witnessed.

Maybe that was the original question after all!

yeah that sorta is my question. I am in agreement with you on the "log jam" and that's what I'm hoping to eliminate or at least alleviate by presoaking them. I feel like the soaked cubes will give me a truer "juice level" in the carboy bc I don't want to have to open the container at all to top off. in theory, if they're already saturated, they wont have the air space that causes them to increase head space once the pores begin absorption.

I also agree on the headache and the need to go to the cellar!!!!

but all I really wanted to know was if anyone threw them in a juice bucket and just kept em in there with the primary fermentation process, and then just transferred them with the juice into the secondary container. or if there was any reason that would cause a problem.

what can I say? I love oak! and it fades over time so I use a good bit of it. but I also like the purity of not topping off at all with a similar varietal.

regardless, I enjoyed this and appreciate the input!

 

[richmke]

My wine volcanos always occur when adding tannin powder or oak staves/powder/cubes. Not sure why, but its consistent.

Because the powder/staves/cubes serves as nucleation points for the gas bubbles to form.

Similar to dropping a mentos into a carbonated beverage.

 

[richmke]

I feel like the soaked cubes will give me a truer "juice level" in the carboy

1) Does it matter? If you have to top off, you have to top off. Does it matter if you have to top off right away, or a week later?

2) The oak cubes will soak up whatever your put them in. That will leach into the wine when you put them in.

3) The oak will give up its essence into whatever you soak them in. So, whatever liquid you don't pour into the carboy has oak that gets poured down the drain.

In summary: Nice idea, but IMHO, not a good one.

 

[sour_grapes]

but all I really wanted to know was if anyone threw them in a juice bucket and just kept em in there with the primary fermentation process, and then just transferred them with the juice into the secondary container. or if there was any reason that would cause a problem.

There is one definite problem, and one "maybe" problem.

For sure, what you are describing will turn out to be a minor pain in the pitooty. The cubes will sink and get buried in the gross lees. You will have to retrieve them, clean them off, and transfer to secondary, and then repeat the process upon racking for aging (lest you lose some of their oaken goodness due to limited contact time).

Maybe a problem (I am not at all sure on this): The oakiness may get diminished during the primary fermentation process.

 

[JohnT]

I am sort of with Rich.

Just top off the wine if needed, but that small bit of air should not pose much of a problem if the PH and level of SO2 is right.

johnT.