The Auswine Forum

IVE KEPT 2 TONNE OF MY OWN GRAPES THIS YEAR AND AM CURRNTLY AT THE PRIMARY FERMENTATION STAGE. I ONLY USE STANLESS STEEL BARRELS AND WANT TO ADD SOME OAK CHIPS THIS YEAR TO GIVE MORE WOOD CHARACTERISTICS TO MY WINE. IN THE PAST THE STAINLESS TENDS TO GIVE SLIGHT METTALIC ZINGY TASTE TO THE WINES. DOES ANYONE SUGGEST ANY PARTICULAR TYPE OF WOOD CHIP TO ADD TO THE BARRELS, WHEN SHOULD I ADD THEM, AND HOW MUCH PER 44 GALLON BARREL.

Are you serious?

Stick with thet metallic zingy taste,unoaked (insert grape type here) is all the rage these days.

And it would be nice if you could turn off the Caps Lock, even all lower case is better than all UPPER CASE.

Wood chips are out of fashion these days. Try a couple of cups of iron filings. Gives your reds that nice rust colour without the pesky waiting 10 years for them to age.

maybe the caps lock is broke

You guys are not being very fair or polite either. Give poor old Gilli a go with his first post.

His request in asking how to gain some more wood flavour in his home-made hooch is very reasonable.

In my opinion, rather than using wood chips, you should add some Pineocleen instead. About one bottle per 44 gallon barrel should about do it, and your wine will have a wonderful, CLEAN FINISH too. It will also kill any nasty bugs in the ferment.

Have you tried Bunnings?

If this was/is a genuine query then we all look like rude wankers.

Wayno wrote:If this was/is a genuine query then we all look like rude wankers.

Not much chance of that Wayno.

If he was a grower and selling grapes, he would know a little about the subject. Also, stainless steel is completely inert and does not impact the flavour or texture of the wine. All the big storage tanks in wineries use stainless liners and the wines are not effected by there time in them.

Wayno wrote:If this was/is a genuine query then we all look like rude wankers.

Yes

you may well!

Happy to apologise if I'm wrong, but it looks like a wind-up to me and I don't think 44 gallon drums come in stainless steel.

Gilli's IP address is in that well-known grape-growing area of Sydney.

I stand corrected, Reid Bosward from Kaesler emailed me to say he has a few 44 gal stainless steel drums and they are reasonably readily available in wine industry circles.

Gilli, if you are serious, at least tell us what type of grapes you are using and where you are, someone may have a spare sack of oak chips you can have cheaply and tell you how to use them.

Actually stainless steel 44's are very handy in the winery. Have been trying to pick one up at clearing sales, but competition is always fierce.

Don't know much about IP addresses etc, but I cant see why this post would be suspect.

Gilli there is a range of oak chips available that you can add into your barrel. Note it will need to be oak. No point sawing up the spotted gum in the backyard.

Not sure in Sydney, but someone like Costante Imports in Melbourne could help, no doubt there are similar amateur winemaking/home brew stores in Sydney. Something like 5g/l should suffice, but no doubt there will be directions to follow. Always better to err on the side of caution. You can always add more.

Have a look at some cooperage websites Gilli...I know AP John offer chips, cubits, mini staves and all manner of stuff that would probably suit what your needs.

Google up home winemaking sites and search for oak alternatives usage.

Also have a look at this:

http://www.oaksolutionsgroup.com/pages/calculator.html