I have been making dry red wines from kits and I add toasted oak spirals to them. I'm getting ready to make a Sauvignon Blanc kit and am wondering if it would benefit from adding toasted oak to the primary fermentation as the dry reds do.
Oak in Sauvignon Blanc?
- Thread starter BlossMan
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
jgmillr1
Well-Known Member
Since you are making it for yourself, if you like the oak bouquet in your wines (eg. California Chardonnay) then feel free to add it. However, this is not the usual character for a Sauv Blanc. The oak will likely overwhelm the delicate tropical fruit aromas that should be there. Adding oak to the primary for reds helps stabilize the color due to the oak tannins as well as providing nice woody flavors.
Many quality New Zealong Sauv Blancs often go through an extended time where the wine rests on the lees (ie. sur lie aging). This would give some nice mouth feel and a nutty character to the wine in addition to the fruit. You can do this easily by stirring or swirling the carboy around to get the yeast back up in the wine every week for a few months.
https://winemakermag.com/924-sur-lie-wine-kits
Many quality New Zealong Sauv Blancs often go through an extended time where the wine rests on the lees (ie. sur lie aging). This would give some nice mouth feel and a nutty character to the wine in addition to the fruit. You can do this easily by stirring or swirling the carboy around to get the yeast back up in the wine every week for a few months.
https://winemakermag.com/924-sur-lie-wine-kits
