Once malolactic fermentation has ended and the wine has been clarified to your liking, you can begin to think about bottling. If you want your wine to exhibit oak influences, but you would rather not spend $1,000 on a new, sixty-gallon French oak barrel, you can purchase a pound of French oak chips for as little as $15. Submerge these chips in your carboy and sample the wine every few weeks until the desired flavor profile has been achieved. Adding from one to three grams of chips per liter of wine should work.

If you do wish to subject your wine to some degree of aging, make sure to store your carboys or barrels in cool, dark places and check the sulfur levels repeatedly. You can also still adjust the acidity at this stage if you desire.