Did yours have oak dust and oak chips? I thought the chips were cubes when I started so I didn’t add them in primary. I plan to taste and decide if I will add more oak.
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FWIR, oak chips. The consensus I gathered was that oak chips in the primary don't really add much in the way of flavor. They provide sacrificial tannins (i.e. structure and some complexity) to the wine. If you're oaking for flavor and using chips, shoot for about a quarter cup of chips in the finish. They give up the goods pretty quickly though - like 3 weeks. I'd wait a month, taste and decide from there whether more oak is a good idea. Cubes and spirals take longer to give it up, but the results are better - like 2 months.
I typically use oak cubes or spirals after the wine has cleared and leave them in the carboy for 3-6 months. From there I either rack and bottle, or rack and wait another 3 months.
Ok. I was just curious if yours had dust and chips. I added the dust in primary, I thought the second bag was cubes, but when I went to add it, it was chips. I wasn’t sure it this was a mistake or a change. I’m going to taste and may add a spiral later.
Racked my FWK Tavola Syrah today into glass from the fermenter. Started at 1.090sg and ended at 1.000sg (14 days later) and wondered if I should have let it sit a few more days to get somewhere in the .994-.998 area but what's done is done and its in glass. Added 1/4 tsp K-meta, American med oak spiral, and topped off with a 14.5% abv Merlot without adding sorbate or k&c ... no clearing agents. Is it possible without adding sorbate it could possibly get lower than 1.000sg in the glass carboy?
With some help or guidance from Winemaker81 my goal is to let this Syrah sit for 8-9 months before splitting into a couple 3 gallon carboys. Add K&C to one and nothing to the other for comparison. First thought was I'm not the guy who can probably tell a difference if there is no sorbate or clearing agents in wine because of my inexperience but who knows......maybe my inexperience will help. I have a FWK Forte and Tavola Pinot Noir in bulk aging to see if I can tell the difference between Forte and Tavola. Fun times in wine making for sure!
With some help or guidance from Winemaker81 my goal is to let this Syrah sit for 8-9 months before splitting into a couple 3 gallon carboys. Add K&C to one and nothing to the other for comparison. First thought was I'm not the guy who can probably tell a difference if there is no sorbate or clearing agents in wine because of my inexperience but who knows......maybe my inexperience will help. I have a FWK Forte and Tavola Pinot Noir in bulk aging to see if I can tell the difference between Forte and Tavola. Fun times in wine making for sure!
Short answer is yes, without sorbate, it might keep going, although the Kmeta might have killed off most of the yeast. (Kmeta = kills off yeast and other stuff, while sorbate = birth control to keep the yeast from reproducing).
Keep in mind that sorbate + K-meta is birth control for yeast. If you added sorbate it's possible the fermentation not continue -- IF it's slow enough at that point. I've seen a few cases of a wine at 1.002 - 1.000 where the fermentation stopped after adding sorbate.
From what I've read, the sorbate is not stopping the ferment, but if it's slow enough, it prevents it from re-igniting due to the birth control properties.
It's highly likely the wine will ferment to <= 0.998
This is how you learn!
Started the Forte Pinot Noir yesterday. Doing this pretty much to spec. But, with this one I added some Tannin FT Rouge in the primary to see if I can mellow the vegetable nose a little.
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If anyone feels worried about the FWK white kids and the charcoal, here's a couple of pictures that might help. The taste is amazing. Only Modifications I made was to add a bit of grapefruit zest to the secondary. The first picture was at the real from primary to carboy, the second was today at bottling. 
Those white kids and their charcoal...
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Yea I had the same charcoal scare.
Bmd2k1
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Few questions for ya - as I've been holding off on FWK whites for a bit:
1. How long does it typically take for the Carbon to do it's job?
2. At what point are you adding the Carbon? (at the very start w/bentonite, per FWK instructions?)
3. Does it form a relatively thick layer at the bottom once done? (using Speidels, I rack via bottom spigot)
Certainly looks crystal clear and Delishhh!
Cheers!
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2) I followed directions per FWK. So the charcoal went in at the start.
3) I'm not sure how thick the layer was. I didn't pay particular attention to it. I can say when I racked the next time, I still had some charcoal fall out. But when I racked, I just shoved the racking cane down to the bottom.
1) I have no idea how long it took for the charcoal to do what it needed to do. I pretty much treated it like any other ferment, wine making.
3) I'm not sure how thick the layer was. I didn't pay particular attention to it. I can say when I racked the next time, I still had some charcoal fall out. But when I racked, I just shoved the racking cane down to the bottom.
1) I have no idea how long it took for the charcoal to do what it needed to do. I pretty much treated it like any other ferment, wine making.
@Bmd2k1, I did the same as @cmason1957, simply following the instructions.
In the distant past I researched use of carbon, but never had the need for it until FWK. What I remember matches the kit usage, e.g., add prior to inoculation and it settles out post fermentation.
The lees of the first racking (gross lees) and second racking (post-K&C) were black, so there was no way to tell how much of it was carbon. It's an odd appearance, e.g., goth wine, but works fine.
At bottling time I had a miniscule layer of carbon that was noticeable only because it was black in a white wine. My normal habit is to leave the last bottle's worth or so behind and bottle separately, and the first 29 bottles are crystal clear. I drank the 30th bottle first, and so far haven't died from it.
In the distant past I researched use of carbon, but never had the need for it until FWK. What I remember matches the kit usage, e.g., add prior to inoculation and it settles out post fermentation.
The lees of the first racking (gross lees) and second racking (post-K&C) were black, so there was no way to tell how much of it was carbon. It's an odd appearance, e.g., goth wine, but works fine.
At bottling time I had a miniscule layer of carbon that was noticeable only because it was black in a white wine. My normal habit is to leave the last bottle's worth or so behind and bottle separately, and the first 29 bottles are crystal clear. I drank the 30th bottle first, and so far haven't died from it.
Bah, carbon sharmon. I like amber wine.
My Sauvignon Blanc is still dark for the type, although I suspect it's clearer than it would be without the carbon.
However, I admit that seeing totally black must is initially a WTF??? moment.
For me, the carbon dust is too much to deal with just to get a slightly lighter color. It's messy to work with and it's tough to rack out. I tried it twice, but won't use it again.
How long did it take to clear?
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I don't have my notes with me to totally answer, but I didn't notice it taking all that much longer than normal for it to fully clear. I didn't let it fully ferment in my bucket, but racked it to the carboy when the SG had dropped to nearly 1.000. I worry more about oxidation with white wines than with reds, so tend to get it under airlock sooner than the directions say to do it.
I then let it sit under airlock not racked for up to a month. The charcoal had started to drop out somewhat during that time. I then added the K & C for clearing purposes and then racked about 2 or 3 weeks later. There was a very solid layer of dark material on the bottom of the carboy. It then sat under airlock for another month or two and some more dark material dropped out. It was then filtered, let sit for another bit and then bottled.
From the Australian Wine Institute:
"Carbon can be used to remove off-flavours and odours from wine, to decrease browning or pinking in white wines and to remove colour from red wines. There are two forms of carbon: ‘decolourising’ carbon, normally marked KBB and ‘deodourising’, normally marked AAA. Carbon works well in combination with PVPP in both tasks. The compounds to be removed are physically adsorbed to the large surface area of the carbon particles. The adsorption rate on the carbon surface is typically very fast. Carbon is regarded as a severe and relatively non-specific fining agent and therefore should be used with care. Special care should be taken to avoid exposure to carbon: use eye protection in combination with breathing protection."
"Carbon can be used to remove off-flavours and odours from wine, to decrease browning or pinking in white wines and to remove colour from red wines. There are two forms of carbon: ‘decolourising’ carbon, normally marked KBB and ‘deodourising’, normally marked AAA. Carbon works well in combination with PVPP in both tasks. The compounds to be removed are physically adsorbed to the large surface area of the carbon particles. The adsorption rate on the carbon surface is typically very fast. Carbon is regarded as a severe and relatively non-specific fining agent and therefore should be used with care. Special care should be taken to avoid exposure to carbon: use eye protection in combination with breathing protection."
