Bulk Age Counter Start

[Doug’s wines]

@pgentile I did just locate the following articles which the posters suggests bulk aging is aging done in any vessel other than a bottle and aging in a bottle is of course “bottle aging”

https://www.finevinewines.com/Bottle-Aging-versus-Bulk-Aging.htm
https://winemakermag.com/121-bulk-vs-bottle-aging-wine-wizard

They both also seem to suggest that bulk begins at the end of fermentation.

This book (University Course on Wine Making) suggests that wine bulk aging can include the time stabilizing and clearing:
https://books.google.com/books?id=O...AegQICRAB#v=onepage&q=define bulk age&f=false

 

[mainshipfred]

Okay, okay, okay... Can we all at least agree when bottle aging begins?

That's an easy one, bottles start aging once they leave the furnace. LOL

 

[GaDawg]

My two cents. Bulk aging of wine can’t start til you have wine.FWIW.........

My DEA buddy says legally you have wine once the yeast has been pitched.

 

[Brian55]

So if the bulk of my wine is just 750ml and I'm aging it, it's not bulk aging?

No, that would be bottle aging. The entire batch in one or two vessels is bulk aging. The end results are likely to be similar, but bulk aging allows for adjustments and changes to be made prior to eventually bottling.

 

[pgentile]

They both also seem to suggest that bulk begins at the end of fermentation.

I completely agree, I just like playing devil's advocate sometimes.

 

[pgentile]

No, that would be bottle aging. The entire batch in one or two vessels is bulk aging. The end results are likely to be similar, but bulk aging allows for adjustments and changes to be made prior to eventually bottling.

Even if I had a little 750ml oak barrel??? And all I had was that 750ml in volume. It's still bottle aging?

 

[pillswoj]

Even if I had a little 750ml oak barrel??? And all I had was that 750ml in volume. It's still bottle aging?

It would be bulk if you then bottled it after in 75 ml bottles.[emoji16]

 

[Brian55]

Even if I had a little 750ml oak barrel??? And all I had was that 750ml in volume. It's still bottle aging?

Is a barrel now a bottle? Are we still talking about wine kits here?

 

[meadmaker1]

Looks like the question is switching from what is the age of a wine and when bulk aging begins
What I believe and gather from the responces here is.
Pitching yeast dates the wine. Ageing begins when a wine could be bottled., which means fermentation is finished.
So bulk ageing is the time between when fermintation is finished and bottling.
If there is less than a gallon of finished product there realy isn't enough product to qualify as bulk.
Or am I missing something? ??

 

[bkisel]

Looks like the question is switching from what is the age of a wine and when bulk aging begins
What I believe and gather from the responces here is.
Pitching yeast dates the wine. Ageing begins when a wine could be bottled., which means fermentation is finished.
So bulk ageing is the time between when fermintation is finished and bottling.
If there is less than a gallon of finished product there realy isn't enough product to qualify as bulk.
Or am I missing something? ??

I could live with that definition even though it is not the point (though very close) at which I start my bulk age counter.

 

[meadmaker1]

@bkisel
Trust me I have a couple arguments for that post myself, but by the time a year goes by and someone actually asks, a month one way or the other is probably as close as I care to get.
I dont set a timer so dont give much thought to when it starts. Just when its done..

 

[bkisel]

@bkisel
Trust me I have a couple arguments for that post myself, but by the time a year goes by and someone actually asks, a month one way or the other is probably as close as I care to get.
I dont set a timer so dont give much thought to when it starts. Just when its done..

I actually put a postit sticker on my carboys with among other info the date that I started bulk aging and the date, depending on the wine I'm aging, for bottling. The sticker hangs out with bottled batch so that with the bottling date I know when it is about ready for consumption. A few days variance here or there is not an issue for me - e.g. for convenience I might bottle a few days earlier or later than what is on the sticker.

 

[Kiazer]

Age of wine I do from when I pitch the yeast, typically month and year used on the label.

Bulk aging begins for me when the wine is clear and racked off the sediment Bulk aging for me is always in 3 month intervals with a racking and Kmeta addition each time. So typically if I say a wine is 6 months Bulk aging it is more likely 7 months old, even older if extended Maceration was done.

Thats how I count it also