Vineco Bulk Aging Kits

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Jacktar

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What schedule do you use for bulk aging kits? I'm assuming since there is virtually no sediment after I stabilize, I'd add 1/4 teaspoon of kmeta, top up to the neck of the Carboy and wait? No racking a needed as long as there is no lees?

Is this right? How long is the wine good to age before I have to do something with it?
 
I've a formula I use for myself... When the instructions say to bottle 4-week kits get aged 4 months, 2 months bulk and 2 months bottle aged. 6-week kits are 3 and 3 and if I were to do an 8-week kit it would be 4 and 4. I add 1/4 tsp. k-meta @ bottling when I rack to a bucket (k-meta has been tossed in), stir and bottle from the bucket.

I'm starting to hold back some bottles from the higher end kits to let bottle age a longer time before consumption.
 
So for your 4 week kit you use the package of kmeta that came with it, age in the Carboy for 2 months and then 1/4 tsp kmeta before bottling for 2 months? Or did I add something extra in there?
 
So for your 4 week kit you use the package of kmeta that came with it, age in the Carboy for 2 months and then 1/4 tsp kmeta before bottling for 2 months? Or did I add something extra in there?

Yes, unless I forget, which I have done a few times, 1/4 tsp. k-meta at bottling which is in addition to what was added during stabilization. Though I do start consumption of my 4-week kits in 4 months plus the 4-week/28 days to instructions to bottle - so ~5 months - it could be that some bottles, if stock is high, don't get opened for maybe close to a year from starting the kit.

I don't think the 1/4 tsp. k-meta will hurt the wine but I'll defer to a more experienced/knowledgeable member to comment.
 
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So for your 4 week kit you use the package of kmeta that came with it, age in the Carboy for 2 months and then 1/4 tsp kmeta before bottling for 2 months? Or did I add something extra in there?

We're drinking bottles at the 24 month plus point, which were treated to nothing more than the so2 included with the kit. Most are as good as it gets as far as kits that we've made, and compared to commercial wines in the under $20 range. Since our early endeavors, based on the advice and experience of others on this site, we've started adding additional so2 during various stages of bulk aging, and also prior to bottling. Based on what we've experienced so far, so2 seems to be highly over rated and over emphasized. I wouldn't sweat it until you're considering wines possibly aged beyond three years plus...
 
I view kmeta as insurance during bulk aging. For a higher-end wine it is good to play it safe.

Once bottled, the wine is more protected, so it's just a matter of dosing on a schedule while they're in a carboy with airlock.

That said, I've done the same as Brian55 and just used the amount included in the kit for numerous batches.
 
I do not make kits. but Potassium Metabisulphite is used in wine to preserve and protect it. When added to the wine it does not effect the taste, the resulting SO2 remains in the wine in free form until it binds with O2 once bound it no longer serves as protection. Bottled wine has very little exchange with Oxygen until opened. so there only needs to be enough SO2 to protect it until drank. as wine is racked and Additional O2 is introduced into the wine and So2 is lost through evaporation, precipitation and binding. This is why it is added when racked during bulk aging.
yeasts produce a sulfur-binding compound called acetaldehyde. As this compound is produced through the course of anaerobic fermentation, it is bound up by the available SO2. If you measured the SO2 immediately after fermentation, you would find little to no free SO2 and a total SO2 less than half of your pre-fermentation addition. The resulting loss would be due to binding, precipitation and vaporization. What this means is that for all practical purposes, the winemaker is starting from square one again.
Unless there is a compelling reason, wine destined for malolactic fermentation (ML) should probably not receive any SO2 at this point. Lactic acid bacteria are highly susceptible to SO2. Instead, initiation of ML should take place as soon as possible.

All other wines—whites especially—should receive sulfur at their first racking. The following philosophy makes this addition fairly routine for most wines:

1. I want enough SO2 present to protect the wine.

2. With alcoholic fermentation complete, the wine can be kept cold to retard microbial activity.

3. In most cases the wine won’t be consumed for several months at the earliest, and a slightly elevated SO2 at this stage is not an issue.

4. Better protection is afforded by one larger dose of SO2 than by more frequent smaller doses.

The above philosophy, combined with experience, has led me to a standard addition at first racking of 80 ppm. The dosage of SO2 is calculated and added to the receiving tank as it is filling. I understand a one-size-fits-all answer is simplistic, but an addition at this level usually provides adequate protection through spring without going too high.

Extenuating factors might include plastic tanks, warm cellars, a pH above 3.5, or late-harvest wines, all of which might call for 10-20 ppm more SO2.
 
Based on multiple recommendations from this website I traditionally rack my aging Reds every 3 months and add up to a quarter teaspoon of KMeta at each racking. After 1 year of bulk aging in the car boy I will bottle and let age anywhere from 3 months to 1 more year. so far this has worked for me
 

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