SB Ranch
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Hello,<?amespace prefix = o ns = "urnchemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" />
Thank you for your contact and for choosing our products. You can bulk age the wine if you wish. You would follow the instructions up to bottling day, rack the wine into a new clean vessel - make sure you have added the extra 1/4 teaspoon of metabisulpohite mixed in 1/2 cup cool water - top it up with a similar wine and let it age. There is no reason to rack a wine that is not sitting on a lot of sediment - soracking every 3 months (as you have mentioned)is not necessary. Each time you rack you would have to monitor the sulphite levels etc.
Bulk pros:
* All of the wine ages at the same rate
* Bulk size shields against rapid temperature change
* Any sediment drop-out left in carboy
Bottle pros
* Convenient storage (carboy is bulky)
* No worries about drying out airlocks
* Can try wine periodically
Otherwise there is no difference between aging wine in bottles or in bulk.
Keep in mind that all the expensive wines you've ever seen have been aging
in bottles, not in bulk, and when a connoisseur ages wine for 20 years, he
does it in bottles.
Every thing I read leads me to believe that extending the process out nine months is better for the wine.
Aging is the key - whether it be bottle or bulk aging - time does wonders for any wine.
With age, most red wines which begin life with obvious fruity aromas and some degree of astringency ('bite') will develop softer, gentler, more complex aromas and flavours. The wines become richer, as the fruit mellows and the astringent tannins relax and contribute to the body and character.
Cheers,
Linda Kazakoff
Customer Service
Winexpert Inc.
<?amespace prefix = st1 ns = "urnchemas-microsoft-comfficearttags" /><st1:Street wt="on"><st1ddress wt="on">1622 Kebet Way</st1ddress></st1:Street>
<st1:City wt="on"><st1lace wt="on">Port Coquitlam</st1lace></st1:City>, B.C.
V3C 5W9
604-941-5588
Thank you for your contact and for choosing our products. You can bulk age the wine if you wish. You would follow the instructions up to bottling day, rack the wine into a new clean vessel - make sure you have added the extra 1/4 teaspoon of metabisulpohite mixed in 1/2 cup cool water - top it up with a similar wine and let it age. There is no reason to rack a wine that is not sitting on a lot of sediment - soracking every 3 months (as you have mentioned)is not necessary. Each time you rack you would have to monitor the sulphite levels etc.
Bulk pros:
* All of the wine ages at the same rate
* Bulk size shields against rapid temperature change
* Any sediment drop-out left in carboy
Bottle pros
* Convenient storage (carboy is bulky)
* No worries about drying out airlocks
* Can try wine periodically
Otherwise there is no difference between aging wine in bottles or in bulk.
Keep in mind that all the expensive wines you've ever seen have been aging
in bottles, not in bulk, and when a connoisseur ages wine for 20 years, he
does it in bottles.
Every thing I read leads me to believe that extending the process out nine months is better for the wine.
Aging is the key - whether it be bottle or bulk aging - time does wonders for any wine.
With age, most red wines which begin life with obvious fruity aromas and some degree of astringency ('bite') will develop softer, gentler, more complex aromas and flavours. The wines become richer, as the fruit mellows and the astringent tannins relax and contribute to the body and character.
Cheers,
Linda Kazakoff
Customer Service
Winexpert Inc.
<?amespace prefix = st1 ns = "urnchemas-microsoft-comfficearttags" /><st1:Street wt="on"><st1ddress wt="on">1622 Kebet Way</st1ddress></st1:Street>
<st1:City wt="on"><st1lace wt="on">Port Coquitlam</st1lace></st1:City>, B.C.
V3C 5W9
604-941-5588