I need some advice. (again)
I am aging my cabernet sauvignon in glass carboys.
I would like to add oak to the process. My (not very well thought out) plan is to toss a handfull of oak cubes (.5in cubes) into the carboy itself. let them float free. I would keep them in there for
2-3 monthsI know its good practice to boil corks prior to using, so, before i add the cubes, should i boil them to kill off any bad critters?
-Wayne
I never Boil or Sulfite the oak. By boiling you will take all the flavor out. Corks, I will dip them in some Pot/Met when corking. Reason is you don't know who or how it was handled prior to you getting them. For this reason I buy 1.000 cork bags.
Tom
This is an interesting discussion, maybe worthy of a top post. I do not buy corks in 1,000 bags - for fear of a TCA contamination ruining an entire years bottling. Rather, I buy in 100 piece bags (Altec corks), and try to get each of those from separate lots (1,000 piece bags) from my retailer.
Anyone else have an opinion on cork purchase quantity - relative to TCA risk?
? Where do you think the 100 corks come from? Cork companies package them in
1,000 per bag. You just got 1/10 of that bag.Wine distributors just repackage them.Tom
As I tried to say, obviously not clearly enough, in my previous post ("Rather, I buy in 100 piece bags (Altec corks), and try to get each of those from separate lots (1,000 piece bags) from my retailer") I buy
100 piece bags at different times, specifically from differing 1,000 piece lots so as to lessen the likelihood of a TCA contamination going beyond any one 100 piece bag.
Boy is that a good question. I currently have 6 - two were purchased from MoreWine as new kegs - at a very high price (morewinemaking.com). The shipping cost would kill you tho (I can drive to their warehouse) - so you should find a retailer near you. My other 4 I got from another winemaker who was retiring from homewinemaking to become a commercial winemaker. Those were at a great price - free!
I need one or two more, so lately I've been 'putting the word out' with winemaking friends, and also with some people who work in bars and beer places. Hoping they can find some cheap for me.
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