How long do you wait before bottling...

[Donz]

Your first bottles? We have a tradition in my family to empty our first demijohn and bottle our October wine on December 24th for Xmas. Obviously, it only gets better with age!

 

[Donz]

My wine is already looking and tasting great after 3 weeks

 

[FreddyC]

I bottle every year at the end of March for my wife's birthday. The family comes down so we make a day of it. For my whites and Rose' wines that means it has been about 6 months since harvest. For the Reds, about 18 months.

 

[heatherd]

I ferment and then bulk age for six months and then bottle.

 

[NorCal]

I bulk age for 11 months, then bottle.

 

[Johny99]

Whites I bulk age for ~ 6 months to bottle. Reds, two years bulk, bottle and another year in the bottle before drinking as a rule. Of course, taste dictates everything, and I taste bulk aging monthly::

 

[Matty_Kay]

Usually bulk age 6 months for whites and atleast 1 year for reds.

 

[JohnT]

I bulk age for 18 to 24 months. I bottle just in time for fall crush. So, for example, I will not begin to bottle my 2016 vintages until April/May of 2018.

 

[Boatboy24]

My process is roughly a year. Gotta empty the carboys before the next batch of grapes arrives. I'd probably go longer, but I don't want to buy any more carboys.

Kits are 6-9 months for reds, shorter for whites.

 

[bkisel]

4 week kits get 2 months bulk 2 months bottle aging. 6 week kits 3 and 3. Country/fruit wines 2 and 2. Save a bottle or two from each batch for a year or more.

 

[kevinlfifer]

Like many, I bottle when I need the carboys.