Three of the last for years I've been making Sangiovesse(sp?). Last fall I had my first brunello. I have 2 questions, first on reading Italian websites I've found that they use solvakene(sp) oak in the first year and french in the second year plus years. Will the american oak we get here act as a replacement or where can I get the oak chips they use. Second, I've also heard that the root stock for a brunello must be from the barolo grape and not the more common one used for regular sangiovesse. Third has any one ever tried to do this from grapes? Two seasons ago i jacked up a cab from FJ with both american and french oak. The results were very interesting.