Newb question: first wines from chilean juices

[upstatecowboy]

I have only made wine kits before. I now have Carmenere, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Grigio jiuces in primary fermentor. I added toasted american oak to the primary for the reds. I plan on MLF for them. How do I know if I should be using oak in the primary when it's the first time with a juice? I will be adding MLF bacteria in a few days and sometime later I plan on oak. Again, how do you know whether to oak or not?

 

[Johnd]

I have only made wine kits before. I now have Carmenere, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Grigio jiuces in primary fermentor. I added toasted american oak to the primary for the reds. I plan on MLF for them. How do I know if I should be using oak in the primary when it's the first time with a juice? I will be adding MLF bacteria in a few days and sometime later I plan on oak. Again, how do you know whether to oak or not?

The tannins in the oak in primary will serve to bind the colors, but will add little in the way of oak flavor to the wine. It’s a good idea to do this since you don’t have all of the tannins from the skins when you do a juice bucket.

Post fermentation, oak adjuncts are the decision of the winemaker, based upon taste and preference. If you like the flavor, go for it, if you don’t, then skip it.