Hi Everyone,

All these wines were made from California grapes.

I just racked my Zin and Syrah, Cab and Merlot today. No smelly Cab or
Merlot but the Syrah and Zin had quite a noticeable H2S smell. I
splashed and aerated quite a bit, hoping to get rid of the smell. I will
probably rack again in 3-4 weeks to try to get rid of the smell.
I would like to add my oak chips to all my wines, but the question is,
do I wait and try to get rid of the H2S smell before I add the oak, or
is it ok to add oak now, and maybe this will help in reducing the H2S
smell.
Last year I had a smelly Merlot, and after several rackings, it
dissapeared, then I oaked. I have heard the Zin and Syrah will benefit
from early oaking.

Your opinions are greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Dave

"Dave Stosky" > wrote in message
...
> Hi Everyone,
>
> All these wines were made from California grapes.
>
> I just racked my Zin and Syrah, Cab and Merlot today. No smelly Cab or
> Merlot but the Syrah and Zin had quite a noticeable H2S smell. I
> splashed and aerated quite a bit, hoping to get rid of the smell. I will
> probably rack again in 3-4 weeks to try to get rid of the smell.
> I would like to add my oak chips to all my wines, but the question is,
> do I wait and try to get rid of the H2S smell before I add the oak, or
> is it ok to add oak now, and maybe this will help in reducing the H2S
> smell.

Adding oak now will neither help nor hurt your H2S problem. That's a
separate issue, and one you should address ASAP. Try stirring the wine with
a clean piece of copper pipe. That may work a miracle before your very
eyes - er, nose.

Tom S