bulk age/time in a bottle

[jerry]

onin24eagle sure had it right (TIME IN A BOTTLE]. Age after bottling for a good lenght of time will improve the wine. My question is. How many months can I bulk age in a carboy after my last racking? With that, when I do bottle will the bottle shock be reduced or is it still a better idea to just bottle and let it age in the bottles?
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[Wade E]

You can bulk age in carboy as long as you want as long as keep the SO2 in good range. As far as bottle shock goes, youll still want to bottle at least 2 months before you plan on drinking it.

 

[PeterZ]

Bottle shock is the result of taking a column of air that is about 2.25" tall in the neck of the bottle and compressing it to .5" with the insertion of the cork. It doesn't matter how long the wine has bulk aged, the shock will still be there.


That said, bulk aging or bottle aging will mature the wine. Bulk aging is gentler if your storage conditions are sub-optimal, as the wine temperature varies more slowly. If you have a good wine cellar with consistent temperature, then bulk or bottle is about the same.

 

[Tomy]

My first case of bottles of wine I used screw on tops, does this mean the wine will go through less bottle shock? Tomy

 

[PeterZ]

Tomy, probably. Next time you use screw tops, taste the wine before bottling, and then open a screwtop a couple of days later. Let us know.

 

[moose]

That's interesting to know what bottle shock actually is and what causes it. Thanks Peter Z