Adding sulphite and aging past 6 months

[Giovannino]

RJSpagnols kits suggest adding an extra 1/4 teaspoon of sulphite for aging past six months is this true for all suppliers?

Is this really necessary? What if some of the wine is NOT being aged past the six months - i.e. let's say 1/3 will be drunk before the six-month period?

Since I only just started with kits I'm finding difficult to have bottles remain in the rack and that's why I have so many going at the same time.

What do you think.
Thanks

 

[Rocky]

Giovannio, If you are bulk aging the wine and do not do an actual test for free SO2, adding 1/4 t at the six month mark is some insurance against oxidation. If you do the test and the SO2 levels are adequate (>50 ppm) you probably do not have to add. If you feel you are going to consume 1/3 of the bottles before the 6 month mark, bottle them without the extra addition (assuming you did add K-meta when you stabilized the wine) and then add porportionally less to the remaining wine and bulk age it in a smaller carboy.

 

[robie]

I believe you are talking about bottle aging, right? If that is the case, if you don't measure your free SO2, if you plan on aging in the bottle more than 6 months, do as the instructions say. Those bottles you can't stay away from and end up drinking before 6 months might have a slight sulfite taste. That taste is a good thing; it might keep you out of your wine until it has matured a little more!!!!

Patience, patience, patience!

You could do like Rocky wrote and set aside a few specially marked bottles that don't have the extra sulfite.

 

[Rocky]

Giovannino, I sympathize with you on the wine that does not "age" in your house. I have been back into winemaking since January this year and I have precious few of my first wines left. You asked if you need to put sulfite in the bottles because you use them so fast. I am not sure I need to put a cork in some of mine!

 

[robie]

Giovannino, I sympathize with you on the wine that does not "age" in your house. I have been back into winemaking since January this year and I have precious few of my first wines left. You asked if you need to put sulfite in the bottles because you use them so fast. I am not sure I need to put a cork in some of mine!

You guys!!!

I should speak to someone near you who can sneak in and pad lock your wine storage ares until this time next year! Either that or invent you a time machine so you can bottle today, then every time you get "weak", you can sneak out a couple of years in time to get your fix. (Maybe all of us some time or another could use that machine!!!)

Naw, if you are happy with it, who cares.

 

[SpoiledRotten]

RJSpagnols kits suggest adding an extra 1/4 teaspoon of sulphite for aging past six months is this true for all suppliers?

Is this really necessary? What if some of the wine is NOT being aged past the six months - i.e. let's say 1/3 will be drunk before the six-month period?

Since I only just started with kits I'm finding difficult to have bottles remain in the rack and that's why I have so many going at the same time.

What do you think.
Thanks

Giovannino, I feel your pain. I'm having a hard time stock piling the wine. It gets consumed before it has time to fill up a rack. I guess that means that it tastes pretty good so I won't complain too much.

 

[robie]

At least hide a few bottles of each batch from yourself and don't drink until the wines are mature. The idea is if you can make enough wine often enough, you might not drink it that fast... you will have so much, you will start getting behind on the drinking.

 

[Giovannino]

Thanks all for you input - it is really appreciated how you have so much patience helping the beginner and expert alike. And, you're pretty funny in some of your replies.

I believe you are talking about bottle aging, right? If that is the case, if you don't measure your free SO2, if you plan on aging in the bottle more than 6 months, do as the instructions say. Those bottles you can't stay away from and end up drinking before 6 months might have a slight sulfite taste. That taste is a good thing; it might keep you out of your wine until it has matured a little more!!!!

Patience, patience, patience!

You could do like Rocky wrote and set aside a few specially marked bottles that don't have the extra sulfite.

Yup, it's bottle aging. The thing is, I'm not doing this at home but using the services of a brew-on-premises. Of course I have no idea what S02 is and because I'm using exclusively Premium or above kits I wanted to protect my investment.

Giovannino, I sympathize with you on the wine that does not "age" in your house. I have been back into winemaking since January this year and I have precious few of my first wines left. You asked if you need to put sulfite in the bottles because you use them so fast. I am not sure I need to put a cork in some of mine!

You're funny. I too have returned to the kits after 6 or 7-year absence (coincidentally I found a couple of the labels yesterday - a Pinot Noir and a V'cella) and that is why I'm in this predicament - no stocks.

You guys!!!

I should speak to someone near you who can sneak in and pad lock your wine storage ares until this time next year! Either that or invent you a time machine so you can bottle today, then every time you get "weak", you can sneak out a couple of years in time to get your fix. (Maybe all of us some time or another could use that machine!!!)

Naw, if you are happy with it, who cares.

If that was the case, why not 5 or 10 years. Yes I'm happy with the Shiraz and me knows the V'cella is promising but the waiting is killing me.

Giovannino, I feel your pain. I'm having a hard time stock piling the wine. It gets consumed before it has time to fill up a rack. I guess that means that it tastes pretty good so I won't complain too much.

When did you start? How are you handling the stock-piling?

And to ALL

Now that I've explained that I'm using a brew-on-premises service and talking of bottle aging, at what point should I add the sulphite so I can separate about ten bottles?

Is it possible to make a drinkable good young wine from a kit?

Too many questions?

Thanks

 

[roblloyd]

Why can't you make them at home? I can see the value of the service if you don't have room or your just starting out and need a helping hand on the 1st batch. Or lack of room.... Anyways

Whites generally mature faster than reds. 6 months and most white kits will be around 80% mature. Where a red will need at a least a year.

I started in January. How to I cope with patience? Lots of money at the store. I do try a bottle now and then to see how they are progressing. Even better is to use 1/2 bottles (375ml) so you can still get a taste but not deplete your stock so fast.

 

[Rocky]

From the list of wines that you are making, it looks like you are definitely a "red wine" guy. As has been mentioned, whites are ready sooner, so if you are not complelely against them, I would recommend a wihite. If you can find Beaujolais juice, a light red, that might work.

 

[shoebiedoo]

That's why I'm working on the right wines, and the "right now" wines <G> I'll have my formentor working overtime for quite a while to get all the wines i need. My 1st batch of Vieux Chateau di Roi (vintage Auguest) is just about ready for early consumption

 

[robie]

From the list of wines that you are making, it looks like you are definitely a "red wine" guy. As has been mentioned, whites are ready sooner, so if you are not complelely against them, I would recommend a wihite. If you can find Beaujolais juice, a light red, that might work.

In the last six months or so I have started to appreciate white wines much more. There was a time I didn't bother with them at all. I would endure them at wine tastings, waiting on the reds to come next.

Now, one of my goals is to make a really, really nice Chardonnay from fresh grapes. You know, maybe something equivalent to about $30 commercially. I want to do it as best I can with as good a grape as I can possibly find/afford. Sorry, but I don't think such a Chard can be made from a kit, even though some kit Chards are OK. I just think there is nothing better than a Chard, which you can catch the aroma of when the glass first reaches only six from your nose and the acid doesn't bite you.

Problem is, a wine can be no better than the quality of its grapes. Those type of grapes are hard to find or expensive. I just might try to buy a top of the line Brehm Chardonnay juice-only bucket. Trying to get hold of really nice Chard grapes might be a problem.

I really believe I am capable of making a really, really good white wine. At least I sure want to try!

 

[dangerdave]

I have a special box where I put my 'A' bottles (the first bottle from each batch I make). These will be left for a year, so I can try them later.

I like the Skeeter Pee for fast consumeable wines. Everybody likes them , and it keeps the "vermin" (friends and family) from getting into the wines I want to age. Well, that's the plan, anyways. I have bottled three batches since I started winemaking in August. Currently, I have three bottles of wine in my 'A' box, and nothing else but the last batch I bottled (which I told everybody has to sit idle for at least a month...lol).

We love wine at our house. I am about to ramp things up, because I have five carboys that I'll be bottling before the end of this month (hopefully), and there will be more than we can drink (thankfully). Then, all I have to do is keep making wine to replace what we drink (and maybe some extra). I have space for about 600 bottles, so I hope, in a few years, to have a lot to choose from!

 

[millwright01]

I can only tell you what I do, and I'm not sure if I am right or not. When I bottle my wine I bottle 10 bottles and set them aside. Then I add the sulphite to the remaining wine if it calls for it(I have a 1/8 measure so I use 1 and 1/2 of those.)Then I bottle the remaining wine. The first 10 bottles get labels but no endotherms so that I know to drink them first. The remaining bottles get put in storage. I have a system for this as well with different wine racks for different ages. Whenever I get the urge to drink something that might not be ready, (like 2 weeks after bottling usually!!!!!) I make sure it is the stuff with no endotherm (no sulphite) Hope that helps. I used to just sulphite all of it. It never killed me drinking it, and I am not sure I could even taste the difference. I just do it this way now because I have convinced myself that I don't get as bad a headache if I over indulge

 

[robie]

I can only tell you what I do, and I'm not sure if I am right or not. When I bottle my wine I bottle 10 bottles and set them aside. Then I add the sulphite to the remaining wine if it calls for it(I have a 1/8 measure so I use 1 and 1/2 of those.)Then I bottle the remaining wine. The first 10 bottles get labels but no endotherms so that I know to drink them first. The remaining bottles get put in storage. I have a system for this as well with different wine racks for different ages. Whenever I get the urge to drink something that might not be ready, (like 2 weeks after bottling usually!!!!!) I make sure it is the stuff with no endotherm (no sulphite) Hope that helps. I used to just sulphite all of it. It never killed me drinking it, and I am not sure I could even taste the difference. I just do it this way now because I have convinced myself that I don't get as bad a headache if I over indulge

Good way of doing it. Thanks for the input.

 

[Giovannino]

I can only tell you what I do, and I'm not sure if I am right or not. When I bottle my wine I bottle 10 bottles and set them aside. Then I add the sulphite to the remaining wine if it calls for it(I have a 1/8 measure so I use 1 and 1/2 of those.)Then I bottle the remaining wine. The first 10 bottles get labels but no endotherms so that I know to drink them first. The remaining bottles get put in storage. I have a system for this as well with different wine racks for different ages. Whenever I get the urge to drink something that might not be ready, (like 2 weeks after bottling usually!!!!!) I make sure it is the stuff with no endotherm (no sulphite) Hope that helps. I used to just sulphite all of it. It never killed me drinking it, and I am not sure I could even taste the difference. I just do it this way now because I have convinced myself that I don't get as bad a headache if I over indulge

So, you're saying you add the suphite to the remaining wine in the carboy on bottling day?

---

Yes, I would say I am a red wine type-of-guy. I used to mix especially in the summer-time when I was able to sit by the seaside and just relax, but then for some reason, I just fell out of love for white.

As Simon and Garf used to say "Seasons change and so did I..."

 

[robie]

So, you're saying you add the suphite to the remaining wine in the carboy on bottling day?

"

When adding Kmeta last minute, just make sure it is completely dissolved and stirred in well. Otherwise, it can go straight to the bottom of the carboy and pool there. I would put Kmeta in a small amount of warm water to dissolve fully, then add and stir.

 

[DrJayman]

The problem of 'wine attrition' is the hardest part of this hobby. We love wine, the thought of making something very reasonably and it's just sitting there defenseless. And of course, starting out, those first couple months are torture....

Knowing my tendency to sucumb to temptation, I had to kind of find a way to distract myself. I kind of roughly "plan" or "forecast" for about a year out. I like the thought of having the really big wines that really need at least a year to be what they could and should be, so I make those and note any which will somewhat mature if any, in that time frame. I then make lesser and quicker aging kits to "distract me" and forecast to have them about ready to fill holes in the future. That way you pretty much always have something available if not choices, and your precious ones can fly under the radar.

I'ts win/win

 

[Giovannino]

make lesser and quicker aging kits

And which ones are they Jayman?

 

[DrJayman]

It really depends on 1. your taste level, including red vs white, and 2. just where your "holes" or "open window" where you don't have something to quaff guilt-free.

I am a big cellar craft fan. I have made others and had varying results, but have found them to provide the best bang for the buck at whatever levels. With that said, I like both red and white, and as far as quaffing or distracting goes, I probably drink more white at that level. As was mentioned, if you can enjoy a type or couple types of white you can have a pretty decent quaffing wine after 3-4 months in the bottle. I have had good success with the Sterling (10L) line in the Pinot Grigio and the Chard, both of which my wife likes which many will confirm makes this hobby easier. When I get those going, I get a batch or two from the Premium line (16L) which as I understand are recommended to have 6-7 months in bottle, (and cold stabilize this level on up), and I have set myself up nicely. I usually make the showcase or LE kits, but this is how I have stayed out of them. About twice a year, and now that I have quaffer distracting stock for about 6 months, I'll get about 3 showcase reds going this fall to bulk through the winter, so this happens about every 6 months and has to be limited that way due to space/storage concerns.

Now, from the sound of it you are pretty much a red man so if you can't find a white or two to get you by your road is much rockier. As was said, for something with any guts it is going to take time, much more than white and the more juice in the kit, the longer the "grace period." You certainly could get a really good batch going into bottles or bulk if you wanted to oak, and then (of before) make a lesser red kit of quaffers to distract you. You may or may not be disappointed, but I would bet you'd drink all 30 bottles and your prima stock gracing would be spared.

So all in all, if one wants to make something good but also wants to drink some of their labors, also make something you'll drink to keep one's hands out of the cookie jar.....