Hello from Chicago! (and a question)

[Hotel Guy]

Hey guys, first time winemaker here in the process of making my first kit of Cabernet Sauvignon. Just racked into secondary carboy earlier today. Looking forward to using this forum to learn as much as I can about the process.

I do have one question though, has anyone soaked their oak chips in bourbon before adding during fermentation? I’m a big fan of bourbon barrel aged Cabernets and thought this could be a unique way to add a bit of that flavor profile. Would love to hear any thoughts on this. Thank you!

 

[davidabcd]

welcome aboard! To narrow it down, click "forums" and then scroll down to the applicable wine-making topic. You might not get all the wine makers checking out "Introductions." Good luck!

 

[Kent88]

Welcome!

I'm sure you've seen that we have a section of the forum specifically for winemaking.

As for soaking oak chips, I haven't made any grape wine yet, but I've heard of people soaking oak in different distilled beverages before and getting decent results.

 

[wallyLOZ]

Welcome from Missouri, neighbor. Haven't tried winemaking yet, but plenty here do. As stated above, check out the winemaking forum. Good luck.

 

[Jayjay1976]

Hey guys, first time winemaker here in the process of making my first kit of Cabernet Sauvignon. Just racked into secondary carboy earlier today. Looking forward to using this forum to learn as much as I can about the process.

I do have one question though, has anyone soaked their oak chips in bourbon before adding during fermentation? I’m a big fan of bourbon barrel aged Cabernets and thought this could be a unique way to add a bit of that flavor profile. Would love to hear any thoughts on this. Thank you!

Just a guess, and this isn't the forum for this topic, but unlike wine barrels bourbon barrels are generally charred inside aren't they? If so, char those chips before soaking in bourbon.

 

[MaxStout]

Welcome to the forum, from Minnesota!

Toast the oak chips in an oven. Then soak them for a couple weeks in several ounces of your favorite whisky. Dump the chips and whisky into your fermenter.

 

[Angus MacDonald]

Hey dude, sadly the only experience I have from Chicago is O'Hare but umm... It looked nice flying over it. Brew! Brew as your heart doth demand it! I wont be able to help with the wine, but just wanted to say hi.

 

[Hotel Guy]

Thanks guys!