Bottling

[Lagerman1]

Does it hurt to bottle a 5 week wine kit early. Hot temps coming up.

 

[wineforfun]

Not as long as it is done fermenting and is clear, with proper chemicals added, especially if backsweetened.

 

[dralarms]

Exactly. If it's still fermenting or is still gassy you're asking for bottle bombs.

 

[Scooter68]

Bottling a kit wine before the kit's recommended time? More often than not folks bottle much later not earlier.

The heat will affect the wine as much bottled as in bulk storage - in fact I would rather bottle in a warmer time so there is more likely to be a negative pressure in the bottle as cooler weather sets in.

But the key - is the wine really ready to be bottled - Aged enough, De-Gassed, chemically balanced with K-meta and sorbate (If it has residual sugar)

 

[Lagerman1]

Thank you all for the info.

 

[bkisel]

Have you considering keeping it in the carboy maybe set in 3-4" of water with a wet tee shirt over the carboy? Maybe even add some cold packs to the water every now and then while the batch bulk ages?

 

[KeithKLRFilter]

IMHO....5, 6 week ferment-to-bottle kits are best left alone for a few months. Bottling that early will result in either exploding bottles, popping corks, or fizzy wine when you open it (with lots of yummy sediment to hopefully not disturb).

Do yourself a huge favor...
Primary fermentation of 3 weeks.
Clarification/degass, then wait 4 weeks.
Rack (optional - filter at 5 micron) - wait 4 weeks.
Rack (optional - filter at 1 micron) - wait 4 weeks (or more). Let it age some.
Bottle.

I know we all have situations, but the longer you let it be wine, the better the wine will be. You're really missing out by rushing the process. Try getting to a point where you have 3 or 4 batches 'rolling along' in the above stages....it will greatly improve your results and your happy factor will be much higher.

 

[montanaWineGuy]

How hot is to get?

I'd wait til bottling. It could be a disaster, whereas some heat might have no effects.

 

[DoctorCAD]

6 months from box to bottle.

You'll thank me later.

 

[MariusTitulescu]

6 months will pass slowly, but it will be worth it.

 

[Scooter68]

6 months will pass slowly, but it will be worth it.

Six months will be short if you start about 9 more batches between now and then. When one goes into aging time, start another. In one year you will have a great selection of wine to drink and a lot more experience.

If you still find waiting hard - go the the bottle shop and pick out some unusual wines to try - you might just come up with some ideas for your own variety to create.

(Oh yeah, read the list of ingredients - very revealing on some wines.