Two weeks back I forgot to add the inert weight to my oak tea bag and was resigned to it floating on the top for the duration. Today the thing is not on the top and not visible anywhere in the carboy of merlot. Do oak chips finally reach a saturation point and then become denser than the wine?
In a word, YES! The cellulose fibers in wood have a specific gravity of around 1.25-1.60. Wood floats because of the amount of air it contains in its structure. As you suggest, as the wood becomes "wine-logged" its specific gravity increases and eventually will be greater than the wine and will sink.
CHEERS!
Aaron
Certainly, they are water logged (or wine logged). The most common thing that sinks boats in rivers are logs that have become waterlogged and suck to the bottom in shallow water where a boat will hit them. Only dry wood floats.
Ray
DrinksForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.