Lesson Learned

Everyone learns in different ways.  Some by watching, some by reading, some by experiencing.  For instance, in my case I learned what amount of oak chips not to put into my wine by first nearly ruining a batch of Chilean malbec with exactly that amount.  Apparently Jon Iverson’s chapter titled “All About Oak,” which warned me of this problem in plain English, was not, in itself, enough for me to have learned that lesson.  This brings me to another point about trying to learn a skill by reading a dozen books on the topic:  It’s really hard to remember everything that you read in a dozen books.  Nonetheless, the lesson is now officially learned.

When it came time this weekend to give my chardonnay that oaky flavor that I so love, I threw away the “French Oak Chips,” which in hindsight did smell an awful lot like sawdust, and replaced them with “Medium Plus Toasted French Oak Cubes.”  The picture here shows the comparison of the recommended added dosage per gallon.  Wine barrels come in three grades of toasting – medium, medium plus and heavy – each of which are designed to impart distinct, yet subtle flavor affects over several months of exposure.  I’ve now deduced that the chips, on the other hand, were not toasted at all, and imparted their much harsher affect in the matter of a week.  Just to be safe though, I took Iverson’s advice and enclosed the cubes in a nylon bag so that they can be removed at a moment’s notice.  The cubes cost 10 times more than the chips, and Iverson correctly points out that “you are not going to get quality oak for a dollar a pound,” yet somehow 37 years on this earth, including 15 as a professional investor, failed to teach me the most obvious lesson of all: you get what you pay for.