When to oak?

I have three batches of Welches going right now and I'm wanting to add oak to one to give them some variety. At what point in the recipe would you add oak chips?

Once it's totally clear and no longer dropping sediment, you can rack onto the oak.

Thanks Yooper. Rough idea of how long to let it stay with the oak?

You can put it in at any time, clear or not, most of the flavor will come out in about a week then slowly leach out over time, keep tasting - but dont taste right where the oak is floating, mix it a little. We did a welches concord with oak and it turned out very nice, oak in the back, great grapey taste overall. WVMJ

tully72 said:

Thanks Yooper. Rough idea of how long to let it stay with the oak?

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It depends is the best answer I have! Some oak is stronger than others- American oak for example is much more intense than French oak, and there are light, medium and dark toasts as well.

The best thing I can say is to wait about two-three weeks, and take a tiny sample of the wine. If it's slightly too much oak, then it's perfect! If it's not enough, more time will help. If it's way too much, it'll age out but it'll take a while.

When it's slightly too much oak, then you can rack off of the oak and either bottle or age in the carboy.

This ^ answered my question too. Much appreciated Yooper!