I'd wait to oak if you are using oak chips or some other oaking method other then powder. For my Merlots,Cabs, and pino noir's I like medium toast french oak. For big Zinfandels I use American oak. I usually wait until my third racking, the first racking being from primary, I let the wine clear well for at least a month with each racking if not longer. I steam my chips in a steamer basket for 10 minutes to get rid of the more bitter tannins (I dont boil like EC Kraus says) I start with 2oz except for my pinos I start with one ounce. I taste it with my wine theif every week or two and add more or rack it off if it's the flavor I like. You can always add and its hard to subtract so I prefer to go slow unless you like the taste of plywood in your wine. Good luck, Ken
Mod edit- This thread is broken off of another thread. Due to my thread hijack, I thought it would be better to start a new thread with the specific issues address.
Great advice- thanks so much! It's always nice to hear from personal experience.
When do you start the MLF process? Do you innoculate with the culture right away?
Fresh grapes and juices are impossible to get here, but I'm hoping to find some next year when I travel downstate.