Should I get rid of the oak chips when racking?

[spol73]

RJ Spagnols en premier woodbridge cab. Not sure if I should transfer the bag with oakchips from the primary fermenter to the carboy when racking. How about the grape skins?
Could I reuse the grape skins when making another batch the same day? Whould that benefit the new wine that I wil be making next?

 

[olusteebus]

I personally would. I overoaked a white wine last spring and it was only in the primary. But then, I guess I don't like a lot of oak. Very bitter, not drinkable.

 

[bkisel]

My RJS WS Super Tuscan had me rack off the chips and leave the skins behind when going to "secondary" @ SG 1.020 or lower. The chips that came with my kit were not in a bag.

 

[bchilders]

The chips can be reused and added to secondary but trash the skins. They will impart off flavors after primary. Leave the chips as long as you like depending on the tannin structure you are going for. I am still experimenting with types of chips and length of time but it is more of a personal taste and the type of grape/juice you are using. If you have the carboys, split the batch into 2 1/2 gallons or something and leave the chips in longer for one and see what you like best.

 

[djrockinsteve]

When you do remove the oak chips dump them in your garden or flower bed.

Kits are different than fermenting straight from juice. After my wines are cleared my oak goes in 6 months for whites and a year for reds.

 

[Runningwolf]

Save the chips and throw them on your grill when grilling.

 

[jamesngalveston]

I think we see more of runningwolf when he has all that snow and cold then when its nice outside..lol
staying warm by the puter...;huh

 

[spol73]

Thanks everyone. I got rid of the skins and used half of the oak chips (along with the two tea bags provided) with the RJS Grand Cru Cab that I started after racking the En Premier

 

[Pumpkinman]

Oak Chips impart everything they have within a few days to a week, you will not gain anything from them by adding the used chips to the secondary.

 

[spol73]

Then why some suggest that the wine will acquire the oak taste if oak chips are put in the secondary as well. Do they mean fresh oak, perhaps? For that matter aging in oak barrels doesn't matter after 7 days and barrels can only be used once?

 

[cmason1957]

Oak chips and oak barrels are nearly unrelated, other than they are both oak. Oak chips are very small and give up what little they have quickly. You can put them in your primary and then again in secondary, but you wont get very much more into your secondary.

Oak cubes give up all they have in about two months. An oak barrel gives up all its oak taste after at most 6 uses. (I am talking the bigger oak barrels where you leave the wine in for a year or more.) Many home winemakers use them for the micro-oxidation they are good for and add oak staves, cubes, chips.

Does that make sense?

 

[spol73]

It does. Thanks.

 

[winemaker_3352]

Welcome aboard!!!

 

[JohnT]

Just to add to what cmason has said..

It all really comes down to surface area to volume ratios.

When using chips or cubes, the wine contacts all surfaces areas. For cubes, that is 6 sides. Think about it. I cube that is 1/2 inch square, you get a full 1.5 square inches of contact.

For barrels, the contact is much less. Only ONE side is exposed. Additionally, the volume of the barrel itself affects this ratio. The larger the barrel, the lower the amount of surface contact between wine and wood.

Chips are very thin. Having contact on all sides means that the oak is extracted a very quickly.

Cubes, being thicker and larger takes much longer to extract wood.

For barrels, the rule of thumb is 1 wee per gallon of capacity. So, for example, a 5 gallon barrel is best over 5 weeks, while a 50 gallon barrel is best over 50 weeks.