The directions on the bottle indicated 4oz for a 5gal batch, but right before bottling my wine, I added about 1.1/3oz (split one 4oz bottle between 3 batches of wine), and each different wine was a 6 gallon batch. Sampling the wine after bottling, the oakiness is really powerful (overpowering to be honest). For the recently bottled wines, I'm going to try to let them age in the bottles for at least 6-12 months before trying them again (hoping the oakiness mellows over time). I'm also experimenting with putting less than an oz of Oak Essence into a couple of fresh wine batches (during fermentation) to see if fermentation helps to mellow the oaky flavoring. I like having some hints of oak in a glass of wine, but not to the point that I feel like I'm licking the barrel. If you use Oak Essence, just be aware that a little goes a long way, so use sparingly.
