Other Bulk ageing question

[horacegoeskiing]

Hi
I have been doing wine kits now for 1 year and have had a lot of fun and made a few mistakes along the way. However I’ve now started doing more premium kits such as the Selection and Kenridge Showcase series and would like to make sure I’m going in the right direction.
Firstly I’m using better bottles for the secondary fermenter and once I have degassed, stabilised (not racked as I don’t want have the head space increased with oxygen) how long would you recommend I leave them like this before I rack and bottle to get the best quality wine. I know the instructions talk about 2-3 weeks before bottling but ive read that many of you bulk age the wine. Is there big taste difference? And if there is, is it ok to have the wine sitting on the remaining sludge at the bottom of the fermenter after adding the Kieselsol for so many months.
The second question - I add 5 crushed and dissolved campden tablets to the fermenter just prior to bottling. Is this enough as I hope to keep some of the bottled wine for 1 or maybe 2 years?
Many thanks

 

[salcoco]

Bulk aging should start after all sediments are removed and the wine is clear. I usually follow the protocol of racking wine at three days after fermentation stops, three weeks and then three months. I would suggest that you purchase K0-meta in powder form. a good seat of the pants addition is 1/4 tsp per five gallons. do so every time you rack. I would also purchase a method of measuring SO2 to insure proper levels before bottling.

 

[djrockinsteve]

I age my wines in carboys 6 months minimum for fruits and whites, a year for reds. I have reds 2+ years bulk aging on a few wines. Just forgot about them. The flavor is definitely better over time to some extent.

You may want to move into buying juice like Regina or others and bulk purchase chemicals etc. it will cost considerable less and be easier.

Keep wines topped up and watch airlock doesn't dry out. I do not sulfite right before bottling. I do so when I back sweeten then a few weeks later I bottle. My levels are good and I don't get the sulfite smell when you open a bottle.

If you understand the chemical process this makes more sense.

Rack off of sediment within 8 weeks of clearing. Average is 4, I rack at 6 weeks getting all sediment out, I oak certain wines now and age.

Once fermentation is done rack off. Get wine off of the gross lees. No need for a secondary with commercial yeasts as it will be done fermenting in a week to. 10 days. Snap on a lid with an airlock at 1.000 will protect your wine.

 

[horacegoeskiing]

Great feedback thanks! I'm still a bit concerned about the topping up required, the wine expert instructions seem to discourage this but the alternative could be oxidation.

 

[sour_grapes]

Great feedback thanks! I'm still a bit concerned about the topping up required, the wine expert instructions seem to discourage this but the alternative could be oxidation.

They discourage topping up with water. Top off with a vaguely similar wine, and be happy. Or, some people add sanitized marbles, which has the desired effect of removing headspace.

 

[horacegoeskiing]

Thanks Paul, looks like i'll be hunting on ebay for some clear glass marbles in the new year!

 

[sour_grapes]

The other night, my wife and I did an experiment. I was wondering about the effect of topping off a 6 gal batch that, after racking, was missing about 1 liter. I used another wine to top off, but was wondering about how bad the worst case, viz., using water, would be.

We figured out the proportional addition of water. 1/23 is about 4%. So we took 1/2 cup of commercial wine (one that I know well), and added 1 tsp of water to it. This is also about 4% dilution. We arranged to do this as a blind test. I could NOT tell which glass had the diluted wine. When pressed to guess, I could not even find anything to distinguish them.

 

[bkisel]

The RJS 23L kits I've done do mention in the instructions topping off with water. In a conversation with RJS customer service I asked about this and was told to not add more than ~750ML of water and if more topping off were needed use like wine and/or marbles. Just using marbles and/or like wine would be fine, you don't need to only top with water. [Not the exact words but that was the jist.]

 

[horacegoeskiing]

hmmm you've got me thinking, i'm going to repeat this test over christmas...not as if we have any qualified sommelier living under this roof

 

[sour_grapes]

All that having been said, I favor topping off with like wine. I have posted this before, but this is how I look at it: I own this bottle of wine. I can either drink it now, or I can pour it into that there big carboy, and then drink it later. Why do I care exactly when I drink it?

 

[cimbaliw]

I usually follow the kit instructions right up to bottling day, or a little later. At that point I add 1/4t K Meta and stash the bulk carboy under the stairway. My basement is pretty stable temp wise, So I'm not sure bulk aging delivers much to me except; it allows for additional tweaking such as adding oak or finishing tannins and it reduces the temptation of pulling corks. Also, it's nice to bottle after bulk aging and know that the wine is ready to drink.

BC

 

[GaDawg]

I own this bottle of wine. I can either drink it now, or I can pour it into that there big carboy, and then drink it later. Why do I care exactly when I drink it?

My sentiments exactly