Anyone have a favorite oak barrel alternative?
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I like winestix, purchased in bulk they cost about $4 per savoy. I leave them in for 3-6 months. Oak spirals are something else I have used with good results also.
I've had a post in draft for several months, and your post caused me to finalize it.
https://wine.bkfazekas.com/comparison-of-oak-adjuncts/
My preference is oak cubes, due to price and configuratility.
https://wine.bkfazekas.com/comparison-of-oak-adjuncts/
My preference is oak cubes, due to price and configuratility.
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Part of why I have switched over to WineStix is
[Begin opinion not fact] They seem to impart the oak to the wine at a rate closer to how barrels do and they produce a silkier, smoother wine than cubes or spirals[End Opinion]
Since I am leaving them in for upwards of a year, that slowness is a benefit. Cost-wise they are comparable to spirals, when bought in bulk (25 pieces).
[Begin opinion not fact] They seem to impart the oak to the wine at a rate closer to how barrels do and they produce a silkier, smoother wine than cubes or spirals[End Opinion]
Since I am leaving them in for upwards of a year, that slowness is a benefit. Cost-wise they are comparable to spirals, when bought in bulk (25 pieces).
Hmmmm ... I noticed with my wine stix experiment that the wines became smoother after the oak was depleted from the cubes/stix. I originally assumed it was a result of natural aging of the wine, but wondered if it had to do with a less obvious effect of the oak in the wine. Your findings reinforce my thoughts in that direction. Assuming that neither of us is crazy (well, at least on this point), it makes a case for leaving the wine exposed to oak adjuncts longer, to get more than obvious flavoring.
Regarding buying in bulk, it works. I recently purchased 1 lb medium toast Hungarian cubes for $20 USD from my LHBS. Looking at Amazon, I see the same cubes selling for $12 for 3 oz ($64/lb) or $18 for 4 oz ($72/lb). I like my price a LOT better.
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oh Bryan, we are all just a little crazy in our own ways, but I think on this point I am mostly lucid, at least as lucid as I can be at any given point in time.
Everyone please remember, your mileage may vary, you might think I am Bat crap crazy about it and I might well be, but this is my experience. I think we all agree that time imparts some goodness all by itself, even with no convection in the wine. I can't explain it with science, but that kinda wine magic certainly happens.
Cubes are certainly less expensive and there can be more mix and match. One of my early oaking experiments was to purchase from some place (maybe Midwest supplies in minnesnowta) a mix of cubes called burgandy or west coast blend or some such name. 1-2 ounces but a mixture of light, dark, medium toast cubes. Actually this year I am pushing the oak limits somewhat and adding one French Med+ and one American Med+ to each carboy hoping to pick up some additional complexity from the mixture.
Everyone please remember, your mileage may vary, you might think I am Bat crap crazy about it and I might well be, but this is my experience. I think we all agree that time imparts some goodness all by itself, even with no convection in the wine. I can't explain it with science, but that kinda wine magic certainly happens.
Cubes are certainly less expensive and there can be more mix and match. One of my early oaking experiments was to purchase from some place (maybe Midwest supplies in minnesnowta) a mix of cubes called burgandy or west coast blend or some such name. 1-2 ounces but a mixture of light, dark, medium toast cubes. Actually this year I am pushing the oak limits somewhat and adding one French Med+ and one American Med+ to each carboy hoping to pick up some additional complexity from the mixture.
This is why winemaking is an art, not a science. We apply all the tests and science and whatnot to winemaking, but in the end it comes down to individual senses and (hopefully) experienced intuition. If the numbers were what mattered, we'd all be making 100 point wines.
You and I have been corresponding for years, and I trust your opinions. We may disagree on some things, but that's ok. When you said, "I believe ...", I took it seriously, and after ruminating on it for a bit, realized that matched my own thoughts on the subject. Nope -- I have no solid proof that it makes any difference when aging on the cubes past the point the flavoring is expended. But it seems correct. It's entirely possible I'm simply seeing validation from someone as deluded as myself.
@chambers, is this discussion helping you? I realize you may be more confused when we're done than before we started.
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@winemaker81 & @cmason1957 --- PLEASE by All Means - Keep up the Vino Banter! I've learned alot about the Art of Vino crafting from you both! Many thanks for your ongoing sharing
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It makes sense to me that some of the flavors in the oak might be imparted to the wine more slowly than others. If the flavors that are slower to be imparted are desirable, this might be a reason to use a smaller quantity of oak cubes/sticks/spirals/chips, and to leave them in until they are depleted. If you pull them too quickly, you are getting only certain aspects of the flavor from the oak.
If you want to get a flavor similar to barrel aging, you should leave the oak in the wine for several months. There's that "P" word again. 
