Ageing in bottles va carboy

[Ernest T Bass]

Since I don't know enuf about testing and correcting problems while the wine is ageing is there any reason for me to age my wine in a carboy?

Thanks

Semper Fi

 

[Minnesotamaker]

Carboys are nice to use for aging if you have spare ones and you can afford to do it that way. I like it because as the wine ages, the finest particles have a chance to settle there rather than in the bottles. It also lets all your wine age in a common environment whereas if you age in bottles, you might have more or less air exposure or temperature. If you age in carboys, you're less likely to drink a wine before it's ready.... once it's in a bottle, someone might snitch it. Aging in carboys also helps you make corrections as it ages. If you already have it in bottles and then decide to do something to improve it, it is kinda hard to do.

You say you don't know a lot about corrections in wine, but you can always pull small samples and tinker with it some. You'll learn as your experience increases.

 

[Wade E]

If you dont have great cellaring conditions its much better to age in volume as 6 gallons is much less likely to go through severe temp changes then smaller bottles due to its vast size difference.

 

[Turock]

I agree with everything that's been said. PLUS, you don't want to bottle too early unless you're going to do some substantial degassing. I think 6 months is too early for grape or fruit wines--kit wines are another thing. Wait until 7-8 months to bottle, if this is not a kit wine, and it will be fully degassed in that time.

We'd like to get you to the point in your winemaking, where all adjustments are made to the must and no fancy stuff needs to be done in the carboy. It's harder to correct problems in the carboy than it is at the primary.

 

[winemaker_3352]

I totally agree as well. I would bulk age it in the carboy. I do bottle age about 3 - 6 months after bottling before i crack them open or give them out.

It tastes better IMO..

 

[robie]

I agree. One thing to consider, the larger the volume of the container of wine, the slower it ages. They see this in very, very old (75 year+) wine, which was bottled in very large containers in France, rather than typically sized bottles. I don't know the exact math, concerning this, but if you are in a hurry to drink the wine, you won't want to leave it in the carboy over a year. I generally leave mine in the carboy for a year or so, but I am never in a hurry to drink it.

Turock, I have read from others who agree with you about kit wine degassing on its own, if left in the carboy under an air lock, so it must be working for some of you.

I can't say I personally have seen this happen. I have left gassy wine in a carboy with an air lock for 18 months (not any more) and still had noticeable CO2. But, to be fair, maybe the reason why this is the case for me is I store my carboys in an area where the temperature never gets above 62F and is usually in the upper 50's F.

I know that white wine from fresh grapes is subject to the same CO2 issues as any kit wine, because neither gets pressed after fermenting. So, both these types of wine should need degassed. I am not a fruit wine maker, but I assume they would have the same issues, if they are not pressed after fermenting.

What I am trying to say is, since you actively make fruit wines, you should be experiencing the same problems with CO2 as most kit wine makers do, so I don't know why you would see degassing over time and not others of us.

Again, maybe it is the low temperatures, where I store my wine in carboys.

 

[Turock]

I think you misread that. I never said wine kits don't need degassing. THEY DO. I was saying that fruit or grapes wines don't need degassing because they degas on their own as the wine ages in the carboy.

But I think we're in a different situation than most of you. We have so much wine that we are currently bottling 2009 and 2010 wine. It's all degassed by then!!!! I HAVE noticed a CO2 problem on apple after only 1 year.

Bottom line--if you have to degass, then that's the best practice. Most people aren't in our position and are trying to bottle wine that is months old, instead of years old.

 

[milkman]

So is it ok to rack to a new carboy top off with wine and not re sulfite. and let sit say 3 months then bottle with no added sulfites

 

[robie]

So is it ok to rack to a new carboy top off with wine and not re sulfite. and let sit say 3 months then bottle with no added sulfites

Answer is "No". Just refer to the new thread you started with this same question.

 

[Runningwolf]

First off Bud did not say if this is a kit, country wine or grapes. We need more info for better answers. If it's a big red and going in a barrel then yes it needs much longer aging. If your aging in a carboy and need to do an MLF yes you need longer aging in carboy.
If your temps fluctuate with a large swing then you need to correct the situation whether it is in a carboy or bottles. Carboys are easier to protect with brew belts and such.

If you're making Whites there is no reason your wine cannot be bottled within 3-5 months or even less:
Fermentation 4 weeks (includes at least one racking)
Manually degas & Clearing by week 5-6 with SuperKleer or other agent
Back sweeten & Cold Stabilize By week 9-10
Rack and filter Week 11
Bottle week 12

Wine will age well in bottles and only get better. This is not what I typically do but I certainly have in the past to free up carboys.