I literally dumped my water/sugar combo right onto the lees and remaining oak from a RJS Tenat Merlot kit. It Wasn't until a couple days later I even thought of the oak and there was alot as I added an extra bag of chips to the kit. I only backsweetened this batch a bit as an experiment as well. 3 months later cracked my first bottle tonight, pink in color, dry, oaky hint of butter, smooth and actualy has some depth. My wife says it tastes more like a normal wine than my other pees have. I might actually add a bit of oak to my next batch intentionally. Give it a try sometime.