Feb 12
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Most home winemakers are content with buying pre-toasted oak from a local brew shop. But there are those who are lucky enough to have access to wine barrels that have been used by a winery.
These wine barrels are very useful for making oak chips that are necessary for home wine making. Find out more about how to toast oak at home by reading through this page.
First and foremost, split a chunk of barrel stave into small fingers. Again, I said split and not saw because splitting increases surface area. The fingers should be approximately 1/4 to 1/2 inch wide.
There are many techniques on how to toast oak. The simple point is to get a light char on the outside. You know you are doing it wrong if it is a heavy charcoal look. To have an idea on how it should look like, check commercially prepared oak chips. If you are going to toast in a fireplace, use tongs. Consider also using a burner from a gas stove or a camping stove. Keep in mind that barbeque coals are smoky sources of heat so do not use these.
Many people prefer to use propane torches. A propane torch is primarily used for soldering plumbing. If you opt to use this, have the bottle sit on a bench at a low flame and make sure there is nothing flammable nearby. Using tongs, toast the oak fingers over the flame. You must work on the oak slowly at a distance so that the flame does not quickly burn it. Also, make sure that you even toast the oak on all sides. When you are finished with this, you can now add the toasted oak to the wine bucket during its fermentation just as you would with other oak chips. There are those who recommend putting the oak in a mesh bag and letting it hang from the top using a string which is also used to tie the bag. This method makes it easier to remove the oak without needing to rack the wine.
Toasted oak chips infuse oak flavor into the wine faster than oak barrels. Another good thing about toasting oak is that the heat sanitizes the wood. However, you need to put the oak chips into the wine immediately so that it does not become contaminated after toasting.
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