Cellar Craft Oak Powder vs Oak Barrel

[gfmonk]

We are about ready to make our first wine kit. The kit is CellarCraft Lodi Old Vine Zin. We decided to purchase a oak barrel and that leads to my question.

I'm assuming I don't want to use the oak powder and the oak barrel. Is that correct? I'm planning to age it in the oak barrel for 3-4 weeks.

Thanks,
Gary

 

[ibglowin]

The Oak Powder actually adds another dimension to the oak "layering". Putting the powder in the primary allows the yeast to do some magic on it at the same time as its converting the juice into Ethanol. I would use the powder in primary and leave out the beans. Save them for the day your barrel is neutral and then you can toss those into the barrel and get oak flavor and micro-oxidation just like a new barrel. 3-4 weeks is a good first timeframe for a 23L barrel. Remember the oak levels will fall back after 3-4 months and you may even think about putting the wine back into the barrel for another round of a couple of weeks.

 

[gfmonk]

Thanks for the reply Mike. I was wonder what you meant about the beans? LOL, I just looked into the box and realized that there were oak shavings as well. Is that what you mean by the beans (I'm thinking it's another way to add oak)?

Thanks,
Gary

 

[ibglowin]

Oak Cubes are also commonly called "beans". Not sure how the name got started really. I would not use the shavings.

 

[gfmonk]

Thank you!!

 

[Boatboy24]

I have nothing to add regarding the oak question, but I bottled the CC showcase old vine zin a month ago. Opened a split tonight and am sipping on it now. It's only 4 months old, but it's a pretty nice wine already.

 

[knockabout]

How is this wine now? When did it reach its peak? I'm pitching this wine soon and wondering! Thanks!

 

[Boatboy24]

How is this wine now? When did it reach its peak? I'm pitching this wine soon and wondering! Thanks!

You made me open a bottle and I wasn't planning to have another until next month!

Mine is now 16 months old. It is only the third wine I made. The first two being a Vino Italiano Barolo (very low end), and what is now known as Dragon Blood. I made a few mistakes on this one: most notably poor racking resulting in a five gallon batch and not degassing 100%. When first poured, there is a very slight bit of carbonation and a nose of "kit taste" and fruit. A mere 15 minutes in the glass and this wine is transformed. Great body with just a little fruit. It is dry and the tannins are really present now. It has a nice finish, with a slight tannin/acid/spice bite. It is better than about every $10-15 Zin I've purchased and better than a lot of the $15-20 Zins I've had. Between poor racking and early sampling, I'm down to a case of this. I'll try to forget about it until late fall. I will do this kit again.