Oak testing in Seyval

[novalou]

I made Seyval wine this past fall. Cold stabilized through the winter and has been bulk aging until now. The taste was fruity but simple. Thinking it needed some complexity, I tested with medium toast French oak and medium toast Hungarian oak.

I tasted both samples tonight. Both improved the flavor but I like the smooth taste of the French oak better. It seemed smoother with more character. Time will tell as the wine with Hungarian oak improves. Both samples have been oaked one week with cubes.

 

[JohnT]

I made a simular test with american, french, and hungarian oak on a batch of cab sav. All three were of medium toast. My results in a blind tasting were the hungarian first, the american second, and the frech third.

Different oaks have different profiles, just like wine. For a specific wine, some oaks will go like "peanut butter and jelly, while others will go like "liverwurst and jelly".

It makes sense that the profiles of the french oak are well suited for a seyval. Try the same test on a cab if you can. I bet your results will differ.

 

[cmason1957]

"Liverwurst and Jelly" humm, I know some people who might like that.

I have been using Oak blends for a bit and find them very interesting. I don't do the blending myself, you can find suppliers who provide them. I have grown somewhat fond of West Coast Oak blend, which is described as - Medium and medium plus American oak impart a spectrum of intense flavors including vanilla, toasted coconut, toffee, caramel, and coffee. French medium toast lends a hint of spice and a deep mouth feel, giving the wine a solid tannin back bone to round out the flavor.

I don't know if any of the suppliers who help fund this wonderful site currently sell them. If they do, I will certainly buy it from them.

 

[Hokapsig]

I also have a Seyval blanc question. Mine fermented dry to 0.990, but it is still a tad sour, even though I cold stabilized this winter. What is a good final SG to go with on Seyval?

 

[novalou]

I also have a Seyval blanc question. Mine fermented dry to 0.990, but it is still a tad sour, even though I cold stabilized this winter. What is a good final SG to go with on Seyval?

Mine is great as is at 0.990. I too cold stabilized.

What I do for my sour wines is sweeten to taste. Take two wine bottles. Add one tbs of sugar to one bottle, two tbs of sugar to another.

Taste both wine samples and see which comes out better.

 

[Hokapsig]

I took it from 0.990 to 1.002 and the sourness has subsided, but I may need to go just a bit further to 1.004. Thanks for the help!!