to barrel, to age, to filter or not to filter ?

[wittymonkey]

Hi all,

I have now 2 6-gal carboys , one with a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and one with a California Zinfandel. I care more about the wines having a lot of flavor. I don't like a lot of tannins. I tasted them and they are good but have no finish at all.
Both are kits, both are now in the last stage. I am supposed to filter and/or bottle them about now.

For the Zin :

I am thinking that instead of bottling them I want to age the Zinfandel in a oak barrel I bought here :

http://barrelsonline.com/ShowProduct.aspx?ID=30

I am going to of course use the cleaning and soak the barrel first.
What do you think ? Should I do this oak aging ? Should I age it in a different glass carboy instead (5gal and put difference in bottles to drink it?) ? Age it in the present carboy (6gal) (aka leave it as is, with the deposit and all)?
Anything else I should know about aging the Zin in the Barrel ?

For the Sauv Blanc :

For the Sauvignon Blanc the kit recommends filtering it and then bottling.

1. I have a 5 gal carboy , and option 1 is with or without filtering it, filling the 5gal carboy and putting the rest into bottles to drink first.

2. Option 2 is to also oak age it with or without filtration.

So what do you think I should do ?

 

[wittymonkey]

No advice ?

 

[novalou]

Hi all,

I have now 2 6-gal carboys , one with a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and one with a California Zinfandel. I care more about the wines having a lot of flavor. I don't like a lot of tannins. I tasted them and they are good but have no finish at all.
Both are kits, both are now in the last stage. I am supposed to filter and/or bottle them about now.

For the Zin :

I am thinking that instead of bottling them I want to age the Zinfandel in a oak barrel I bought here :

http://barrelsonline.com/ShowProduct.aspx?ID=30

I am going to of course use the cleaning and soak the barrel first.
What do you think ? Should I do this oak aging ? Should I age it in a different glass carboy instead (5gal and put difference in bottles to drink it?) ? Age it in the present carboy (6gal) (aka leave it as is, with the deposit and all)?
Anything else I should know about aging the Zin in the Barrel ?

For the Sauv Blanc :

For the Sauvignon Blanc the kit recommends filtering it and then bottling.

1. I have a 5 gal carboy , and option 1 is with or without filtering it, filling the 5gal carboy and putting the rest into bottles to drink first.

2. Option 2 is to also oak age it with or without filtration.

So what do you think I should do ?

If you don't like heavy tannin wine, do not barrel age. Oak barrels add tannins to wine.

For the zin, rack off the sediment and bulk age in your glass carboy.

For your white, you can bottle when clear or rack off the sediment and bulk age in your carboy.

Filter only if you want ultra clear wine. I choose not to and my wines are clear enough for me.

 

[wittymonkey]

Thanks !

 

[liquiditynerd]

Thanks !

The barrel would be great if you went with a merlot or maybe a sera (dam auto correct) if u want a little mouthfeel u could just use a stave. I use about 8 oz per 5 gallon. The barrel is great though, I love looking at it and knowing it's full!

 

[wittymonkey]

Thanks, I think I'm going to give it a try as it has very little bouquet.