Aging: Bulk vs bottle

[jpftribe]

In a dry (or nearly dry and stable) wine, I wouldn't add sorbate at any time during the process.

So you are saying sorbate is strictly a backsweetening tool? Noob here. I added sorbates to a white non-mlf wine because I also thought it protected against oxidation as well as arresting fermentation.

 

[NorCal]

Sorbate stops yeast from reproducing...that's it. If you are not back sweetening, there is no need to add. One less thing to ingest into your digestive system.

 

[jgmann67]

So you are saying sorbate is strictly a backsweetening tool? Noob here. I added sorbates to a white non-mlf wine because I also thought it protected against oxidation as well as arresting fermentation.

NorCal is correct. Use the sorbate to stop fermentation; we use kmeta to aid in the prevention of oxidation.

 

[Scooter68]

When I was first getting my equipment for wine making I found some drilled rubber bungs from a scientific supply site. HUGE MISTAKE. The rubber bung imparted a heavy rubber odor to the air in the carboy and possibly to the wine itself. As a result I no longer use ANY rubber products with my wine making - the alcohol and acid contend of the wine does not mix well with some rubber varities and my plastic carboy cap for my airlocks seal just fine.

Periodically I check the solution in the airlock and use a spare airlock filled with fresh sanitizer to replace a cloudy or low level airlock. Exposure to air is so minimal in the second or two it takes to swap the airlocks.

As to aging in a bottle or in bulk. Hey if that wine is perfectly clear and doesn't drop any sediment fine. But once you've taken the time, energy and materials to bottle - any late dropping sediment is going to sorta ruin the looks of that wine even if it does nothing to the taste.

The concerns about O2 exposure seem a bit over the top here. If you rack properly then there should be no splashing. Those who use a vacuum pump for racking are already lowering the exposure by pulling out the O2 and in fact degassing the incoming wine.

Whatever works for you but again this seems like a debate that nobody wins except those selling more and more supplies to the folks taking extraordinary steps.