Other 4.5L Demijohns or 23l Carboys? Is There a Difference

[Mexibob]

I have yet to be disappointed by the results of any of the wine kits I have made, however reading through the forums it occurred to me that I may be jeopardizing the potential of my wines.

After fermentation and clearing, I rack my 30 bottle wine kits into four 4.5 litre demijohns and remaining wine in 75cl bottles. I then bottle the demijohn contents as required.

Is this practise okay or should I after clearing, rack to a 23 litre carboy and when appropriate bottle the entire carboy content into 75cl bottles?

 

[winemaker81]

Wine goes through a lot of chemical changes in the first 3-12 months. Having the wine go through those changes as a single unit produces more consistent results.

Also, every racking produces a loss of volume. Having the wine in a single 23 l carboy helps to reduce losses.

In the past I filled 19 l carnitas and had the extra in smaller containers. For kits I now fill a 23 l and top up. It's less hassle. For grape wines I use as few containers as possible, but the variable nature of fresh fruit makes it harder.

 

[vinny]

At 5 months I split my kits into 2 3 gallon carboys and bottled half. I Wanted to taste it, but I also wanted to see the difference that bulk aging vs bottle aging made. I just bottled the second half, and after only 9 months there is no notable difference.

Bottle vs carboy doesn't seem to matter in the short term. Perhaps with years of aging one would see a difference. As long as you have very little headspace in each vessel, it doesn't matter what you keep your wine in.

 

[vinny]

Having the wine go through those changes as a single unit produces more consistent results.

As usual, you do make a good point!

 

[Mexibob]

Hi Guys thanks for responding. Winemaker81, I agree with Vinny you do make a very good point and when you think it through is the logical answer. However like Vinny I doubt my palette would notice a discernible difference but hey will go the carboy route if Santa’s listening and one or two appear Christmas Day.

 

[BigDaveK]

I've actually wondered about this.
Some of my 3-gallon batches in primary actually turn into one 1-gallon and one 3-gallon in secondary. But that's my intention when I know there's going to be a boatload of gross lees. After 2 rackings I usually end up with one 3-gallon carboy. I noticed the gallon jug clears MUCH faster than the 3-gallon carboy. Plus, I think a smaller mass (the 1-gallon) would be more sensitive to temperature fluctuations. The SG's have always been the same, fortunately, but I wonder if there's a measurable but not necessarily noticeable difference?

 

[vinny]

I've actually wondered about this.
Some of my 3-gallon batches in primary actually turn into one 1-gallon and one 3-gallon in secondary. But that's my intention when I know there's going to be a boatload of gross lees. After 2 rackings I usually end up with one 3-gallon carboy. I noticed the gallon jug clears MUCH faster than the 3-gallon carboy. Plus, I think a smaller mass (the 1-gallon) would be more sensitive to temperature fluctuations. The SG's have always been the same, fortunately, but I wonder if there's a measurable but not necessarily noticeable difference?

The picture I just shared of my tomato wine with the raw vs roasted actually had me pondering this.. The 1 litre top up bottles appear to be pretty well cleared and the gallon jugs are still pretty murky. I was wondering if it was due to less wine to look through, or actually falling out of suspension faster. I guess we have our answer now.

 

[winemaker81]

However like Vinny I doubt my palette would notice a discernible difference but hey will go the carboy route if Santa’s listening and one or two appear Christmas Day.

I didn't think it made any difference, but a few years back I bottled a batch early -- it was clear and remained clear, no sediment in the bottle. But I had a tremendous variation between bottles, ranging from very good to kit wine taste (KWT). That one instance made me a believer in ensuring the wine is homogenous and has sufficient bulk aging time.