Oak Experiment

[bluecrab]

I had been using medium-plus French Winestix on several batches of wine, but I was not happy with the outcome. This led me to do a little experiment with oak several months ago and I thought it might be of interest to others. The outcome surprised me.

I had made a red blend that was lightly oaked. When the wine was a little over a year old, I uncorked six bottles and added a single oak cube to each one, then corked them again. Three of the bottles received Stavin medium-plus Hungarian oak and three received Stavin medium-plus American oak. After two, four, and eight weeks, I opened a bottle of each and compared the effects of Hungarian oak to American oak. At two weeks, the oak impact was mild. At four weeks, the oak was much more prominent. At eight weeks, the oak became better integrated and started to fall back a little. That was no surprise. What did surprise me, though, was my oak preference. The American oak added nice caramel, smoky, and vanilla notes to the wine, as I expected. The Hungarian oak made the wine harsh, sour, and muted the wine's other flavors. After tasting the Hungarian oak, it made me realize these were the same notes I was getting from my French oak.

I've read that French oak provides more structure to wine, American oak adds more perfume, and Hungarian is somewhere in between. I've always bought French oak, thinking I was getting the best quality oak. After my experiment, I realize that I prefer the impact of American oak. I'm happy to be surprised, because I think my future wine will more closely match my tastes.

 

[wood1954]

Thanks, good info, as a woodworker I work with American white oak a lot and love the smell when I machine it. I prefer the american oak as well in my wine the more the better. I’m going to start making my own oak slats this year seems pretty easy.

 

[Mike - Next Level Oak]

I agree with wood1954, American oak is definitely more intense with flavors. When I work with American oak in my shop it usually smells like vanilla, chocolate, and coffee...people think I'm baking something haha

Cool experiment!

 

[winemaker81]

@bluecrab, what is in the blend? Grape variety may make a difference.

My experience is that the American oak chips make the most difference during fermentation -- French didn't have as much impact, haven't (yet) tried Hungarian.

I use heavy toast American oak chips during fermentation, and have been using French & Hungarian medium toast cubes for bulk aging. As a Bordeaux lover, I may be pre-conditioned to liking French oak, as I prefer French and Hungarian for aging.

This fall I'm planning to make a Merlot predominant Bordeaux blend, and am going to experiment -- add 2 oz of American, French, and Hungarian to 3 different carboys. I'm interested in seeing the differences.

I am keeping in mind that this subject is very subjective -- personal tastes are important.

 

[bluecrab]

@winemaker81 my blend was made out of necessity, to correct pH. It was about 60% barbera, 20% cab sav, and 20% shiraz. I’m sure the grape varietals, length of aging, and personal preference are important. The experiment helped me to identify the impact the different oak made to the taste. I never had a controlled comparison before this. I’m interested to hear the results of your experiment. Please keep us updated.

 

[winemaker81]

I'll post my status on my web site, as I keep all my notes there.

The couple I purchased my barrel from last fall had another 55 liter barrel. If the barrel is not available, I'll have 3+ carboys for experimentation. If I can buy the barrel, I'll use the second run wine for the experiment.

If it works out that I have a 4th carboy, I'm considering using Mike's product to compare not only to the French & Hungarian, but against the American cubes.

If the outcome is similar (or better) and the price for the sticks is not that much greater, I'll want the sticks. Visualize shaking 6 oz of cubes out of a 55 liter barrel .... if i had a 115 liter barrel, I have no idea how I'd get the cubes out.

 

[winemaker81]

@bluecrab, as I re-read this thread, it occurred to me that opening a bottle 3 and 6 months later might prove a different result. As the imparted oak has a chance to integrate, the harshness of the Hungarian may reduce.

 

[bluecrab]

@winemaker81 I think you’re right. At some point I’ll probably do this experiment over a longer period of time. I like this hobby, because there’s always more to learn.

 

[winemaker81]

@bluecrab -- the nice thing about your experience is that it risks a few bottles, not gallons. If something turns out less than pleasant, it's still probably good for cooking.