WineXpert WE Petit Verdot??

[vscottcolorado]

I am getting ready to start this kit tomorrow. The kit came with 4- 30g packs of oak. On the last few kits I have over oaked for our taste with cubes. Could I add 1/2 the oak to start and then cubes post fermentation if it needs some more?

 

[vcasey]

Absolutely.
I also have this kit and am actually planning to bottle some others soon so I can make this kit. I'll be using all the oak

!

 

[cbw]

My Petit Verdot is in secondary. I used all the oak up front. It fermented t0 near dry really fast ... so there was little time to be on the oak in the primary.

 

[vcasey]

Good to know, I love oak so I'll adjust accordingly.

 

[robie]

Hey Scott,
Great turn out tonight at our club.

Good job, buddy!

 

[v1rotate]

I am getting ready to start this kit tomorrow. The kit came with 4- 30g packs of oak. On the last few kits I have over oaked for our taste with cubes. Could I add 1/2 the oak to start and then cubes post fermentation if it needs some more?

I doubt you would over-oak the kit by adding the 4 packs of dust/shavings. I have added that much to quite a few kits and have never even been able to taste the oak unless I added supplemental cubes for aging. It is pretty subtle.

OTOH, you can always add oak later. Maybe call WE? They have a great customer service reputation. Good luck!

 

[JimCook]

Scott,


When adding additional oak with cubes/beans, use a smaller amount (0-1 ounces, for example) and let it sit longer to give you better control over the oak introduction. If you toss a 3 ounce bag in, not only will you likely be displacing some wine, but the extraction rate would be that of a brand new 5-gallon barrel.


- Jim

 

[vscottcolorado]

Jim:
Mucho thanks for the info and recommendations on oak. My Lodi Cab from Grapes this past fall, I put in 1 3/4 bags (3 1/2 ozs est.) of med toast cubes in 5.4 gallons of juice. Way to much. Again a WV Australian Shiraz with 10 lbs of Shiraz skins same amount of oak. Both are getting better with age, but it is going to take some time.
I think I will add the 120 grams that came with the kit as stated by others above, but taste before adding any additional during bulk.

 

[vcasey]

Finally made some room so I started this one today. Now just waiting for the yeast to get to work.

Inside the box

Into the primary

With all the oak

 

[v1rotate]

Jim:
Mucho thanks for the info and recommendations on oak. My Lodi Cab from Grapes this past fall, I put in 1 3/4 bags (3 1/2 ozs est.) of med toast cubes in 5.4 gallons of juice. Way to much.

The type of oak you are using might make a big difference in how quickly you end up with chateau plywood, Scott. I tried 2oz American heavy toast once, (never again) for about 3 weeks in a Trinity Red and was shocked when I got around to tasting it. Way too strong of an oak flavor, almost bitter. After about 3 months it was still fairly strong but SWMBO liked it and said it tasted like vanilla. Hmm.

Anyway, I have been oaking everything lately with 2oz/6gallons of Hungarian medium toast cubes with great results. I just tasted 4 batches in bulk aging status. They have from 4 to 7 weeks of sitting on the oak and all tasted great and needed a bit more time on the oak.

Like you said, you should taste the batch after stabilizing and see if you think it could use more oak, but don't be afraid to add some "beans". Gives you an excuse to taste the batch every couple of weeks!

 

[vscottcolorado]

I went ahead and used all 4, 120 grams. Just came up and 5 days in could just barely taste the oak. I have been fermenting at a lower temp on this kit. started at 76-78 then I spaced out my brew belt, 71-72. Today SG was 1.021, (Started at 1.101) at 72 degrees. I think I will wait until stabilize and recheck for oak and maybe add a little and taste every couple of days.