Adding oak chips to wine

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scsjohn

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Hello all,

This is my first post/question and it is a little bit of a panic question. I just mixed my first batch of wine. I then proceeded to add oak chips in a nylon bag (sorta like I used to do for adding hops to beer) but I did not sanitize the chips in any way. I didn't boil them nor did I using chemicals.

Have I already messed up as a home-winemaker? Is there a way to salvage my stupidity? I know, I know I should have looked online or at a post first, but I had just finished mixing it all together, found my nylon bag and then threw the chips in.

Is my first batch a wash?

Thanks for any help,

JA
 
yea... wine is harder to throw off than beer. I rarely do more then rinse my equipment unless I visually see some goober, then it's just a lil soap and water. :)
 
Spraying down your equipment with some no rinse sanitizer is cheap and easy. Why you would skip that step is confusing and not a great idea for a beginner to latch onto.

Almost every wine kit I've looked at, or the few I've done say "use a sterilized (sanitized) spoon to mix/stir/push down grape skins, etc."

Was it a kit wine? If so the wood is usually clean to begin with.
 
Samc,

I sanitized everything else: primary, spoon, thief, lid, hydrometer. The oaks chips did not come with the kit. But I wanted to add the oak-y flavor. The chips were OakPlus French chips (medium) from Midwestsupplies in a sealed bag. I added 1.5 ounces.

I didn't even think about it until after I'd put them in. I sterilized the nylon bag I put them in but not the chips themselves.

JA
 
Samc,

I sanitized everything else: primary, spoon, thief, lid, hydrometer. The oaks chips did not come with the kit. But I wanted to add the oak-y flavor. The chips were OakPlus French chips (medium) from Midwestsupplies in a sealed bag. I added 1.5 ounces.

I didn't even think about it until after I'd put them in. I sterilized the nylon bag I put them in but not the chips themselves.

JA

If you opened a fresh bag of oak chips, they are fine. I've never sanitized clean, fresh oak chips. The only time I've felt the need is if they've been in an opened bag in my basement or something like that. Anything that comes in a package (corks included) is fine to use. Once the package is opened, then sanitizing is important.
 
Regarding corks, I talked to the guys at my Lhbs who said corks are repackaged from a bag of a thousand so there is a chance for them to be contaminated. Whether they are new or not, I like to drop all my corks in a sanitizing solution before I bottle to help sanitize and lubricate.
 
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