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It takes many things: Discipline, planning, and lots of product in the production line. I certainly agree with you that most kit wine makers consume their yield long before 4 years. This is further reflected in the industry producing kits that are geared towards quick production and quick...

I just bottled this kit after four years of bulk aging (date code was Feb 2014). It turned out to be a very good drink. Your mileage may vary, but I have found RJS premium kits to be as good or better than WE.

My first few kits I were made in 2012. About a month ago I opened one of the last bottles of the first kit (a mid-priced kit), and it was past its' prime. Still drinkable, but certainly on it's way to oxidation. My high-end kits are still going strong after 5 years.

I make an RJS CCS Amarone a while back. It came with crushed grape skins, dried grape skins and toasted oak. I bulk aged the wine for three years. It turned out magnificent. I cannot get RJS kits in my region anymore, so now I'm limited to WE and Vineco offerings, which is somewhat...

@lilvixen: Ideally, I would like to leave my Kookaburra as-is, however I am faced with a few challenges since I deliberately strayed from the instructions. The biggest impact is that I added dried currants and black cherries to the secondary, and I kept the wine one the grape skins for an...

If you are looking for full bodied, I would recommend using as few clarifiers as possible, and let the wine naturally clarify itself. It will take several months, but I imagine you would be happier with the product. As for the oak, the kit came with a large amount of oak chips already. I...

My Kookaburra is degassing. But developing a white film on the surface (protein overload). I would watch how long you keep your wine on the gross lees on this one.

Grabo: I did not add extra k-meta yet, though I normally add 1/4 tsp every 6 months during a racking (I bulk age my wines 2-3 years until no more sediment collects). I should invest some cash and find a reliable way of measuring free SO2.

I started my Kookaburra about 8 weeks ago, with extended maceration on the skins. I racked the wine off the lees a few days ago. The wine smells and tastes great. I think you will be pleased if you bulk age this one for a year. This wine is really heavy; I would watch for protein build-up --...

I also would have given the skins bag a gentle squeeze or two to extract some of the thick juices before pitching the yeast. That would have also brought up your initial SG. You might end up with a hot wine; this shouldn't be much of a problem since Amarones tend to be in the 14.5% range.

Steve, The kit came with Lalvin EC-1118 yeast. The kit also came with 16L of juice, Grape skin pack, 2 packages of oak chips, bentonite, k-meta, sorbate, 2 packs of chitosan and 2 packs of kiesosol. The developers must think that there will be a great deal of lees / sediment; I...

Steve, I just started mine tonight. I'm not making mine to spec though. I swapped out the yeast and replaced with RC-212. Also added black cherries and blackberries to the grape skin pack. Also reduced the water, and brought the primary level to 21L. I'm really excited about this kit.

Yes I degas with a VacuVin Pump for about 30 days prior to bulk aging.

I have approximately 200 bottles in the cellar, half of which are homebrew; the rest are commercial offerings. I also have 60 gallons bulk aging in carboys. As I continue to experiment with not using fining agents, I'm finding that it takes close to 2 years for all the lees to fall out of...

All posters above have provided great advice. In addition, if you are re-using old bottles, I would not recommend corking threaded bottles. The glass is thinner, the opening is smaller, and may not withstand the stress of being corked.

Generally my approach is to bottle 4 x 375 ml splits, which reduces my yield to about 28 bottles. The benefit of this is that if I want to sample a wine to determine if it is ready to drink, I only have to open a small bottle for sampling, and not worry about "wasting" a full bottle. Any...

I recently had a Sangiovese that exhibited a similar odor. I splash-racked off the lees and it seems to be fine. I wouldn't worry unless you start seeing something growing on the surface of your wine.

Rinse, clean, rinse, sanitize. Repeat. Endlessly cleaning and sanitizing equipment; although very necessary, is tedious and time-consuming.

I have 11 batches bulk aging right now, with 1 kit planned. * 2014 Concord * 2016 Concord * Amarone * Merlot * Liebfraumilch * Riesling * Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon * Montepulciano d'Abruzzo * Syrah * Sangiovese * Super Tuscan * Riesling Ice Wine (planned) I would have more in...

I have had dealings with this situation before. It appears to be indicative of the protein haze. I tried many methods to deal with the occurrence. Adding both packs of Chitosan was the only way I managed to have the problem go away permanently. If left untreated you wine will spoil. I tipped...