woodduck wrote:...Does the wine you use have to be the same variety eg, sharaz, cab sav etc?
Also does it matter if the wine is "corked" or leaked through the cork? I'm just not sure if any bad flavors will carry over. Would this crook stuff be better put aside and ran through for a neutral or even a cleaning run.:
Mixing the types could give a lovely complex grape flavour. In my experience the most dominant flavours come from the oak.
White wines have a fairly light taste in the spirit that comes off. The Pinot noir (red) that I'm currently processing has a stronger more peppery taste. I'm about a week away from sampling some I have on French oak dominoes and will try a little blending.
Many bottles that have been laying on their side leak a bit through the cork but are not "corked."
If it really is corked wine, I'd be a little hesitant. Corked wine that I've tried has been disgusting. :puke-huge:
As the saying goes, if you want a sound house you need a good foundation.
You could run it separately to get a grape based neutral, but don't risk fowling a good brandy.