How Much Oak?

I've been using 1/2 to 3/4 cup of "oak chips" bought at the wine kit store (over and above what was provided with the kits). Kit instructions usually say to add the oak at the 1st step (in primary). I add the extra at the last step (prior to filtering) and let it bulk age for ~3 months.

Its very much a matter of personal preference but at 3/4 cup it is quite noticable (but still at a level that I like). As well, I've been experimenting with different types of oak (dark French, medium American) but can't say that I've noticed in particular difference.

Dan, if you're talking about the Stavin cubes, I've used them the past couple of years in my Zin. I'm in a 5 gal carboy, I found the first year 2 oz. left in for the duration (I was using medium toast, American oak) gave barely noticeable oak. 3 oz. the next year gave me definitely noticeable but still fairly lightly oaked - about what I was looking for since my wine is not that heavy. Of course what "lightly oaked" means depends on the beholder but hopefully that will give you the idea.

- Mark W.

Dan, I use 2-3 oz of medium toast french Stavin cubes for about 4 months in my Cabs and Merlots. I also tend to use a smaller amount (about 10 cubes) of heavy toast American oak cubes on top of the french for about six weeks for more robust wines such as Zin and Shiraz. The small amount of heavy toast adds to complexity nicely with some warm vanilla and caramel notes that work well for me. This is the receipe for my Shiraz/Cab/Merlot that won a gold at the winemaker mag competition, so someone else seems to like it too :-)

The Mad Kiwi Winemaker (Remove -nospam for e-mail)

Thank you all for the info, will adjust.

Dan