Bucket versus Carboy?

[tanyalc]

I have 3 kits I would like to startso I can have them bottled by Christmas, but only one bucket.

Is there any reason why I cannot start 1 or 2 kits in a carboy?

FYI the kits I have to start are: Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and White Zinfindal.

Also if I can use the carboys, which should go in the bucket?

 

[Rocky]

Tanya, I don't want to be discouraging, but you have little chance of starting a wine now (11-11) and having it bottled by Christmas (12-25). You are only talking about slightly more than 6 weeks. It would not be a very good wine. I advise patience and with the three kits you mention, I would put the White Zinfandel on in a bucket, let it ferment down to SG of about 1.020 and transfer it to the carboy to finish fermenting (i.e. down to SG 1.000 or less), stabilize and clear it and then bottle it. That wine has the best chance of being ready sooner than either the Cabernet or the Shiraz. If you only have one bucket, I would wait or get two more buckets. How many carboys do you have?

As Archie Bunker used to say, "Romania wasn't built in a day."

 

[tanyalc]

Hi. The kits I have are 4 week kits... would like to have them bottled and put away by the holiday season. Not "ready to drink".

I have 1 bucket and 5 carboys, so I could potentially bulk age 1 or 2 of them as well.

 

[Dugger]

Making some assumptions: these are 4 week kits; you have 1 bucket and perhaps 2 carboys; you want these bottled to be able to give as gifts for Christmas. If these are correct, this is what I would do:
Start your White Zin in the bucket, transfer at 1.010 - 1.020 (about 5-7 days) to carboy and finish as per instructions and start Cab or Shiraz in bucket as soon as it is empty. Transfer Cab/Shiraz to your other carboy when ready as per instructions. Start other red wine in bucket when it is empty and ferment to dry in the bucket (about 2 weeks) instead of completing the fermentation in the carboy. Bottle your White Zin and transfer red wine in bucket to your empty carboy. Keep both reds in carboy as long as you can and bottle in time for Christmas, advising the recipients not to drink the wine for a few months.
Although not ideal, four week kits can usually be bottled within the 4 week time frame without problems, so this should work for you. Filtering will help.
If these are higher end kits, you should follow Rocky's advice.

Edit: I see my assumptions were wrong; since you have ample carboys, you should follow Rocky's advice. You are better off starting them all in the bucket sequentially rather than in carboys ( oak dust/chips in carboys with vigorous fermentation can lead to overflowing and problems); the white Zin can be bottled and the 2 reds can be bulk aged.

 

[tanyalc]

( oak dust/chips in carboys with vigorous fermentation can lead to overflowing and problems).

Is that the reason for the bucket?

 

[Tom_S]

I use carboys for primary fermentation and never have a problem with it. There is a trick to it, though, in that you have to make sure you leave some headspace for foam so they don't overflow. One way to do this is to hold some juice back and keep it in the fridge until the foam goes down, and then you can use the juice to top up.

I only recommend using a carboy as a primary when you're just using juice or juice concentrate. If I make wine from fresh fruit, I use a bucket since I can throw some of the fruit pulp in a nylon paint strainer bag and stir it once in a while. That's kind of hard to do with a carboy.

Personally, unless I was giving the wine away as gifts, I wouldn't try to rush getting it all bottled by Christmas. I know they're 4 week kits, but the idea of getting wine bottled that quickly makes me cringe. Wine is a lot better when it's been bulk aged for at least 6 months, and I like to wait about a year. I just started a batch yesterday, and I probably won't get it bottled until next Christmas.

 

[Dugger]

Is that the reason for the bucket?

I have to admit here that I have never started a kit in a carboy, with or without oak, so my comment is sort of anecdotal. I have done it in a gallon jug and have had a mess so I believe a carboy is the same thing on a larger scale. Other members have noted personal experiences with volcanoes from plugged necks or airlocks. A large enough carboy would likely be safe (I have a 25 liter one that would probably work) but I would stick to a bucket. I usually put the oak in a bag for easier handling and racking and this won't work in a carboy. Any kinds of additives like oak or grapeskins or elderflowers or raisins, etc. are much easier handled in a bucket. Some also believe oxygen exposure with a bucket is beneficial to fermentation but I believe a good stir introduces enough oxygen to do the trick.
If you have to ferment in the carboy you could reduce the amount of water added to the kit must to allow enough head space in a carboy and add it later when fermentation slows down.

 

[tanyalc]

What size carboys? I use 6 gallon

 

[Julie]

I would not use a carboy as a primary, as stated above you would need to make sure you leave some head space, that means that you are making less than what the kits says to make. Also, for a good fermentation, you need ozygen and you are limiting that with a carboy. Primary buckets are not that expensive, go buy yourself a couple more.

 

[tanyalc]

Looks like I am heading to the wine store to buy a couple more buckets! Thanks for the info.

 

[Julie]

Looks like I am heading to the wine store to buy a couple more buckets! Thanks for the info.

You will not regret it