Too much oak

[wineview]

Last year I decided to try oaking and didn’t know how much is too much. So I followed the package directions and added two spirals in a five or six gallon carboy. Woha… for me that’s way too much oak and I feel like I’m drinking something made from tree branches. I added the spirals last April removed them in July and bottled in October. Will this strong oak mellow out with time? If so, how long.

 

[Hazelemere]

Last year I decided to try oaking and didn’t know how much is too much. So I followed the package directions and added two spirals in a five or six gallon carboy. Woha… for me that’s way too much oak and I feel like I’m drinking something made from tree branches. I added the spirals last April removed them in July and bottled in October. Will this strong oak mellow out with time? If so, how long.

years you may fix it with whipped egg white

 

[wineview]

years you may fix it with whipped egg white

In each bottle?

 

[Ohio Bob]

It’s implied that you dump all the bottles into a carboy, add the egg whites, let it settle, then bottle.

 

[ratflinger]

Make another of that type or a complementary for blending. Mix them together and check the wine's flavor.

Either way you are stuck with unbottleing the batch. It's only slightly painful and the wine can be easily saved.

 

[wineview]

It’s implied that you dump all the bottles into a carboy, add the egg whites, let it settle, then bottle.

What exactly is this egg white recipe

 

[Hazelemere]

In each bottle?

no. only in a carboy unbottled. If you have it in bottles you can try blending the over-oaked bottles with unoaked bottles.

 

[Hazelemere]

What exactly is this egg white recipe

Egg White Fining - WineMakerMag.com

An introduction to fining wine with egg whites.

winemakermag.com

 

[wineview]

no. only in a carboy unbottled. If you have it in bottles you can try blending the over-oaked bottles with unoaked bottles.

Yea been doing that

 

[wineview]

Egg White Fining - WineMakerMag.com

An introduction to fining wine with egg whites.

winemakermag.com

I’d like to bench test in a one gallon jug. Double checking on the amount of egg whites. I calculate it 1/4 tsp in one gallon. Please confirm my calculations. Thanks. Also, since the wine is finished, is an airlock necessary or can I cap the jug.

 

[winemaker81]

Make another of that type or a complementary for blending. Mix them together and check the wine's flavor.

There is no need to unbottle the entire batch. If you have a complementary wine that is unoaked, open a bottle of each and blend, bottle by bottle as you drink it.

Another options is to use the oaky wine for topup of new batches instead of adding oak adjuncts. You can fine-tune how much oakiness you add to the new batch. If the topup amount isn't sufficient, you can stir in more of the oaky wine at bottling time.

I'm lazy, and having unbottled an entire batch before, I'm very much into alternatives that are less labor intensive.

 

[wineview]

There is no need to unbottle the entire batch. If you have a complementary wine that is unoaked, open a bottle of each and blend, bottle by bottle as you drink it.

Another options is to use the oaky wine for topup of new batches instead of adding oak adjuncts. You can fine-tune how much oakiness you add to the new batch. If the topup amount isn't sufficient, you can stir in more of the oaky wine at bottling time.

I'm lazy, and having unbottled an entire batch before, I'm very much into alternatives that are less labor intensive.

I have considered all those options and have used it to top off. I have also mixed a full oaked bottle with a full un-oaked bottle and still came up with too much oak. It’s my mistake for following directions on the packaging. I should have started with one spiral. I still would like to experiment with a gallon of wine with the egg white treatment. If I do, will I need to use a bung and airlock or can I use the screw cap. It’s a heavy duty plastic cap with a three dimensional liner within it.

 

[winemaker81]

I have considered all those options and have used it to top off. I have also mixed a full oaked bottle with a full un-oaked bottle and still came up with too much oak. It’s my mistake for following directions on the packaging. I should have started with one spiral. I still would like to experiment with a gallon of wine with the egg white treatment. If I do, will I need to use a bung and airlock or can I use the screw cap. It’s a heavy duty plastic cap with a three dimensional liner within it.

If the wine is bone dry, you should be able to use a screw cap.

Oak is a dangerous thing -- it's easy to over-do it, and while it will reduce with time, that can be a very long time. I was using 1-1/2 to 2 oz cubes per 19 liters, but have reduced that to 1 oz for reds. I view oak as a seasoning, not a flavoring.

I've noted an increasing number of commercial wineries that note on the label that a wine may contain only 25% oaked wine. Considering they are probably using 225+ liter barrels, which have a very low internal surface area to volume ratio, unlike much smaller barrels, so some wineries are going for low level oak flavoring.

 

[wineview]

Shame on all the spiral manufacturing companies suggesting two spirals for five gallons. I now know that is probably too much oak for anybody.

 

[QuiQuog]

When racking after egg white fining, is it easy to tell when you get to the egg whites on the bottom? I would imagine you want to avoid siphoning it back into the next container, but egg whites are pretty transparent in liquid.

 

[Cap Puncher]

Has anyone successfully reduced oak with egg white fining? I thought it just reduced tannins, not necessarily oak flavor. I have a couple batches I would possibly used it on if others have had success.

 

[Chuck E]

Shame on all the spiral manufacturing companies suggesting two spirals for five gallons. I now know that is probably too much oak for anybody.

I generally use 2 spirals in 5 gallons. I take them out after 3 months. I use medium toast in Chardonnay, and medium+ toast in my reds. To my taste buds it mellows a bit after 3 more months of bulk aging.

Chuck E.

 

[wineview]

I generally use 2 spirals in 5 gallons. I take them out after 3 months. I use medium toast in Chardonnay, and medium+ toast in my reds. To my taste buds it mellows a bit after 3 more months of bulk aging.

Chuck E.

Mine was in bulk for almost a year.

 

[winemaker81]

Mine was in bulk for almost a year.

Excess oak may soften with time, but it's not guaranteed. Your lower tolerance for oak makes a big difference as well. I used oak cubes because I can fine tune the amount.

 

[wineview]

Excess oak may soften with time, but it's not guaranteed. Your lower tolerance for oak makes a big difference as well. I used oak cubes because I can fine tune the amount.

From now on I will break the spirals into thirds.