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| AROBOIS Sarl |
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Frequent
Questions about oak chips
Oak chips are an economic alternative
to oak barrels to ferment or age your wine. Oak Barrels
are used worldwide to age top quality wines.
Oak barrels produce two different effects on wine: they
produce slow oxidation and they transfer tannins and aromatic
compounds.
When using oak chips for the first time you can encounter
with some doubts referring to quantity to add among
other things, we hope this Q&A can serve as orientation.
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| What amount of chips should
I add? |
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As a rule of thumb, we would
suggest a dosage rate between 1 and 4 grams of chips per
ltr. of wine. In fact, it is up to the winemaker to decide
about this point: it all depends on the intensity of the
oak character he or she wants to give to the wine.
Some winemakers prefer preparing a concentrate, on a small
amount of wine with a high dosage rate (approx. 10 g/l),
and then blend it with the rest of the wine.
Never forget that the type of oak character Arobois chips
give to wine is similar to that of a new barrel, which
means rather strong. |
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| When do I introduce the
chips into wine? |
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There are 2 moments when
you can use chips:
- at fermentation : in reds, you simply
mix the chips with the grapes before you introduce them
in the fermenter. It is generally considered that the
extraction is better when the ethanol concentration is
low. Oak tannins also help stabilizing the color.
- during storage of the wine : using
chips allows a high flexibility and permits to monitor
the oak character. |
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| Can I re-use the chips? |
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| The answer is clearly no.
As chips are rather thin, wine can penetrate the whole
chip and extract all the interesting compounds. This means
that you cannot re-use chips. |
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| How long do I leave the
chips in contact with the wine? |
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If you use chips at fermentation,
you obviously leave them during the time of fermentation!
If you use them in wine, then it is better to leave them
in contact as long as possible. The extraction itself
is quite fast, and after 3 to 4 weeks, it is all done,
but everyone knows that time is necessary for the maturation
of your wine. |
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| Can I use chips in barrels? |
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| Of course, you can! After
2 or 3 wines, a barrel is neutral from an aromatic point
of view. Adding chips into your (old) barrels could be
a way to provide them with a second youth! |
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| How do I introduce the
chips into the wine? |
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| You can add them loose,
either in a tank or in a barrel, or you can use small
containers made of porous material, or stainless steel
mesh. Arôbois provides a nylon tube that you cut
to length, in which you can introduce the desired amount
of chips. In order to improve the exchange between oak
and wine, it is recommended not to put too much chips
in one bag. |
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| Is there anything special
to do before I introduce the chips in my wine? |
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| Although Arôbois chips
are not sterile, they are perfectly clean. In theory,
they don't need any special treatment. If you are not
sure of the storage conditions, and you really want to
avoid any trouble, you should rinse them with sulfated
water at room temperature for a short time (less than
an hour), in order to avoid loosing too much of their
aromatic potential. Chlorinated water must not be used
because of the risk of TCA production. |
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| How do I store my chips
before use? |
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The most important point
is to avoid storing your chips with strong smelling products
(e.g. washing powder or solvents).
If you store them in a cool, dry and dark room, your chips
will keep their aromatic potential for at least a year. |
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| What are the differences
between the various Arôbois chips? |
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We produce mainly two sizes
and three toasts.
The difference between small and medium size is the speed
of extraction, due to the ratio surface/volume. Their
faster extraction rate makes small chips more suitable
for a use at fermentation.
The different toasts develop different aromas and flavors
in the oak. The light and medium toast will taste more
like vanilla, while the heavy toast will develop more
smoky, or grilled character.
The ideal is to combine different toasts in order to try
to match the complexity of aromas and flavors oak barrels
provide. |
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| What is the difference
between Arôbois chips and the competition? |
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Just try them, and you will
see the difference! We have a very strict quality policy
that starts from the raw wood supply and ends to the customer's.
We use only new wood, coming from famous French oak forests.
Our raw wood is air-seasoned during 18 months, and afterwards
chipped. The chips are screened in order to eliminate
all the dust and oversized. We keep track of all the information
concerning the supplier and the toasting conditions, and
each individual bag is numbered in order to recall this
information.
Last, but not least, chips are our main product, while
they are just a kind of side-product for most of our competitors.
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