From fermenter to the bottle?

[paubin]

Iv'e been catching up on my reading here in the forum as the demands of house remodelling have been keeping me very buzy. Not to say I haven't been making wine although I have slipped behind on bottling. I rescently got a batch of strawberry going that I plan on making into sparkling.


To get to the point, I've noticed that a few of the forum members get their wines into the bottle quite quickly. Almost no bulk ageing and barely enough time to ensure they are completely fermented out. Some of you guys and gals even drink your wines when they are only months old.Others like myself let their wines stay in the carboy for quite some time. ( I often bulk age for up to 1 year).


I'd love to here everyones opinions on ageing and what you usually do.
I'm usually scared to let anyone try my wines until they are at least a year old and have had 3 months in the bottle, to ensure they have smoothed out.


Sorry I was so long winded!


Pete

 

[jobe05]

Pete: That wasn't long winded at all, I appreciate your opinion.


I would have to say that for me, it depends on the wine, and my taste, and how much time I have been now making wine, let me explain each of those quickly:


The wine: I have some high end kits that I will let the majority of it age at least 1 or more years. I say most of it due to wanting to try the wine from time to time (3 or so time a year) just to see what the difference in aging is. I have lower end kits or white kits that are earlier drinkers, then I have fresh fruit wines that some seem drinkable now, and some have been aging for 2 years and still aren't the best.


Taste: Pretty simple, everyones taste is different. I have also made some wines that tasted really good this time, then next time I make the same wine, just not taste as good for some reason.


Time Making Wine: New wine makers will out drink and out give away their wines faster than they can make it....... After a few (20-30+ for me) batches of wine, a newbie can start breathing easy and seeing their wine racks staying full.


Lastly (talk about long winded.....) Everything that I have read indicates that aging is about the same in a carboy or in the bottle. If that is true, I would think the bottle would be the way to go. If something happens to the carboy, one has lost 5 gallons of wine, which I don't think I have ever heard of that happening to anyone.

 

[PolishWineP]

We do a lot of bulk aging. Bert can't sample it all the time while it's in the carboy, so I actually get to now drink aged wines!

Often times, we bulk age longer than intended because we don't have time to bottle. When we get set up to bottle, it's usually several batches at a time and we're motivated by the fact that we are out of carboys and can't start any new wines until there are some empty carboys.

We don't do much bulk aging of the Island Mist kits or the lower end kits.

 

[Trubador]

I am new to wine making, but my opinion is that bulk aging should be a
requirement. It seems that it would help temendously with
degassing at a minimum. The wine kits give the "earliest" dates
to bottle, age, etc....however, I think we would all be better off bulk
aging in a carboy. And yes this is assuming proper sanitation,
proper temperatures, safe from breaking, etc....



I'm only on my second wine, a chardonnay/semillon from Winexpert, and I
plan to bulk age it at least three months extra beyond kit
instructions. If it was a Stag's leap merlot or similar red, I
think I would age it a year in the carboy.



My first wine, I only aged an additional month in the carboy, and that
was mainly b/c I was using the first batch of wine to iron out all the
"mistakes" that I made and my own curiosity, but I bet even that
mistake wine will taste great!!! It probably has a bit of
carbonation due to my poor degassing techniques and only an extra month
in carboy, but it will be quite drinkable I'm sure

 

[Wade E]

I like to bulk age around 3 or 4 months and then bottle. I believe and
from what I have read is true that there isnt much degassing going on
and all this does is ensure that it is clear and done fermenting and
helps us not to sneak into the batch as much and help with temp changes
as its harder for 6 gallon batches to vary in temps as it is for a 750
bottle. That being said I have a basement which doesnt fluctuate that
much and isnt really a problem for me. Ive also read that wine will
mature faster in a bottle than in a carboy. My $.02

 

[Waldo]

Well yes, I must agree with that, yes and that too. Thats how I do all of my wines

 

[bmorosco]

I agree to bulk age 3-4 months ..I do think with red wines it is important todo this ..Because thay are so complex..But all the wines need aging..

 

[paubin]

Just trying to get an idea on different peoples thinking. I make mostly fruit wines and meads and have felt that ageing is very important to getting the most out of them. The difference between 6 months and a year is often huge. Waldo you always make me laugh....By the way...I'll be sending you that well aged bottle of apple marinade very soon. Well I've got to get in the kitchen to start my boil for a batch of India Pale Ale. HHHmmmm maybe that is how I'm able to stay out of my wines to let them age....I make beer and they are ready in 3-4 weeks,

Pete

 

[MikeC]

As a relative "newbie" I try to follow the directions with the kit. However, as I start to learn more about it I plan to allow some to bulk age several months rather than bottle on the date the kit says to.

 

[kutya]

Well said on bulk aging. I find with my busy schedule, I have to bulk age. I agree with Wade, 3-4 months is great. In the bottle at least 4 months.

 

[summersolstice]

Hi Pete,


I do a lot of kits and a lot of mead. I mostly make red kits and I usually bulk age them for three months or so. My meads seem to get into the bottle quicker - not for any particular reason but it just works out that way. I like making "quick meads" with less honey and lower alcohol that I can begin drinking in 3-4 months so I canallow my bigger meads the time in the bottle they need to mature.

 

[dsiddall]

I am still a bit unclear on when to start the "counter" for aging. when a number of posts refer to letting a mead age for 7-12 months does that counter start when it hits the carboy or after it's bottled, regardless of time in carboy? I really want into my mead, but since every post assures me that it will taste like jet fuel until at least 7 months of aging, I wanna know when that 7 months is!

Thanks
de

 

[dsiddall]

one more quick question, do meads have bottle shock like the wines do?


de

 

[Mr Robusto]

Good question! As a newbie, i find this to good feed back. Instead of "rushing" to bottels, i now know that i can let my wine age and just buy another carboy to start the next batch...

 

[PeterZ]

Bulk aging, in my opinion, starts when you rack out of the carboy the wine was in when you stabilized and clarified. On that racking, I try to bring over fully clarified and degassed wine, top with a similar wine, fit an airlock, and ignore it for as long as I can.

 

[Wade E]

I would definetely say yes that mead will suffer from bottle shock as any wine will.

 

[JWMINNESOTA]

Seems to be a consensus as to when the clock starts on bulk aging, dsiddall a good way to enjoy a mead while you wait is to make a "quick mead " as Rule G pointed out. I do this also, takes away the temptation to crack open one you know needs time.

 

[dsiddall]

do you have a recipe for a quick mead? thanks!
De