Oak chips in primary fermeter - how long

shop deals on amazon
Advertise with us
Shop deals on ebay
Support your community
Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum

Help Support Winemaking Talk - Winemaking Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
V

ViNesv

Member
Joined
Sep 15, 2015
Messages
31
Reaction score
1
Hi I am doing red wine in my primary fermenter now - Argentia Coast Cabernet Sauvignon. As per instructions I am supposed to leave this wine in primary fermenter for 9 days. I also added oak chips into primary fermenter.
If I move my wine to carboy for secondary fermentation after 7 days that means that oak chips were used for shorter period of time. Will that impact my wine taste?
Last time I kept wine in primary fermenter for 9 days and SG went down to low, so with this batch I am monitoring SG instead of relying on number of days. But now I want to figure out how this will impact taste because of the oak chips.
Kit does not have additional oak chips for secondary fermentation or for clearing phase.
 
Oak chips used during clearing will have more impact on flavor than during fermentation.
2 days less on ferment will not have any noticeable effect in my opinion.
 
In most cases, the chips in primary are for sacrificial tannin and a little flavor. A couple days won't make much difference. If you want more oak flavors, you can always add more during aging. No worries
 
I always include oak chips in every red wine fermentation. Don't get hung up on the timeline. Oak chips give up 90% or more of their flavoring in less than a week. You get many benefits from doing this. Throw them out when you rack the first time. When you are ready to age, add oak spirals or stix. The spirals last a lot longer and give a smoother taste over time.
 
Runningwolf, how long should the spirals be in contact with the wine during aging?
 
Like Runningwolf, I always add some chips to my all grape primaries. There are a lot of benefits, as he stated. Among them are tannins and the reduction/elimination of vegetal notes. My first non-kit grape wines were Carmenere and Malbec using juice buckets with a lug of grapes. Both had vegetal notes early on - especially the Carm. Its taken over 2 years for those to fade. Since then, I haven't had that issue.
 
ViNesv said:
Hi I am doing red wine in my primary fermenter now - Argentia Coast Cabernet Sauvignon. As per instructions I am supposed to leave this wine in primary fermenter for 9 days. I also added oak chips into primary fermenter.
If I move my wine to carboy for secondary fermentation after 7 days that means that oak chips were used for shorter period of time. Will that impact my wine taste?
Last time I kept wine in primary fermenter for 9 days and SG went down to low, so with this batch I am monitoring SG instead of relying on number of days. But now I want to figure out how this will impact taste because of the oak chips.
Kit does not have additional oak chips for secondary fermentation or for clearing phase.
Click to expand...

And it's great that you are relying on SG rather than days. Actually, what I do is whatever takes longer of the two. Plus extra bulk aging. Your cab will benefit from time, as well. I try to age my reds a year or more, which can be a combination of bulk-aging and bottle-aging.
 

Similar threads

Mike Parisi
WineXpert HELP!!! WineXpert Argentine Malbec -- Forgot to add Oak Chips during primary Fermentation
Replies
6
Views
841
Jusatele
Jusatele
ROOSTER_815
1st Wine Kit...Temperature and EM Bulk Aging Q
Replies
13
Views
638
sour_grapes
sour_grapes
D
Long time beer brewer, First wine
Replies
7
Views
521
Jovimaple
Jovimaple
Ericphotoart
Merlot from juice – how to proceed
Replies
11
Views
1K
Ericphotoart
Ericphotoart
R
For Sale Central Florida wine making equipment for sale
Replies
2
Views
388
Rick Davis
R

Latest posts

Back
Top