Bulk Aging Protocol

[Bmd2k1]

I'm curious for those that bulk age their wines what your typical protocol is:

- how long do you typically age different reds, whites
- if you age on oak -- typically for how long
- how often do you sample
- what are you looking for when sampling
- any "corrections" you make based on sampling feedback
- etc etc

Cheers!

 

[cmason1957]

Each winemaker that answers this will have something different to say, I can assure you. I don't make many fruit wines any longer, so I won't answer about those.

Red kits - minimum of 6 months, but usually a full year from yeast pitch to into bottle. I often add extra oak, for at least the months, usually longer. Depends on the wine. I add either 1/4 tsp of kmeta every three months or 1/2 tsp every 6 months for 6 gallons of wine. What am I looking for, changes, impressions, feeling when drinking it, nose, does it need something (more tannin, less tannin, something to help mouthfeel, could I add some other wine to help it).

White kits - less time, but not much. Same sort of kmeta schedule.

Red grapes - seldom bottled before a year, sometimes two. I do more testing, ph, acidity, sensory effects, often more oak and tannin.

I don't make many white from grapes.

I'm certain I'm not thinking of everything.

 

[winemaker81]

Craig is right about opinions. The common saying is ask 10 winemakers, get 11 opinions!

Reds in the barrel stay there until the next year's wine is ready for the barrel, so approximately 12 months. I have neutral barrels so I'm using cubes for oak flavoring -- I currently use a smaller amount than previously, and leave the cubes in 6+ months. For reds in carboys, cubes set for 4 to 6 months, and I bottle after a total of 6 to 12 months, typically around 9 months.

Whites age for a total of 4 to 9 months. They typically have a shorter shelf life and are drinkable sooner, so I bottle sooner. If adding oak, say to a Chardonnay, the aging time will be longer.

K-meta every 3 months. I was going a bit longer, but my understanding of how SO2 protects the wine by binding with contaminants has increased, so I'm not stinting on sulfite.

What to taste for? Oakiness, flabbiness, off flavors.

I sample the barrels when doing the monthly topup, mostly because I can, not because I need to. In addition to the Angels' Share, I "lose" an extra half-glass of wine each month. Quality control, ya know!

Cubes in a carboy? I taste test every ~3 months. In the past I used 2 oz cubes for 5 gallons, but I've reduced that to 1-1/4 to 1-3/4 oz, and the heaviness of the wine is a driver, e.g., heavier wines need more oak. While I've oaked heavier in the past, my current mantra is that oak is a seasoning, not an ingredient.

One adjustment I make is more acid if the wine is flabby. I go light on the addition, adding only 1/4 the amount I think it needs, stir, and let it rest for 2 to 4 weeks. Taste and repeat if needed. I discovered that, at least with acid, adding/stirring/tasting doesn't work. The acid needs time to meld with the wine.

Note on tasting -- stir the carboy gently 1 hour before tasting, so the wine is mixed. If you have cubes (or whatever) on the bottom, the taste will be stronger near the cubes, so the wine tastes different depending on where you draw the sample from.

 

[mainshipfred]

I third Craig's comment, here's different but similar protocol. I might make an occasional white juice bucket but other than that everything is from grapes.

First, I'm fortunate enough to be able to age all my wines in barrels and as @winemaker81 stated it's all about timing. My barrels are for the most part neutral so if I have to fill one or two with a K-meta solution for a few months it's no big deal.

Reds will be in the barrel for 10 -12 months and sometimes a little longer, it all depends on how the blending and bottling goes. I use oak sticks and the amount varies depending on the size of the barrel. 30 liters typically get 2 sticks and they stay in for the entire time even though they stop giving off oak. I have no set time for tasting but at least just before I test and adjust sulfites which is every 2 months.

I don't really taste for anything in particular, just how they are progressing. Some change dramatically in the beginning and not always for the better. So the timing really depends on, within reason, what I want the wine to be which includes final tweaking.

I only have one 25 liter neutral barrel that is used for whites. I only make a small amount for whites but I want them all to see some barrel time so I rotate them periodically. The whites are usually aged 6-8 months.

 

[cosmyccowboy]

Each winemaker that answers this will have something different to say, I can assure you. I don't make many fruit wines any longer, so I won't answer about those.

Red kits - minimum of 6 months, but usually a full year from yeast pitch to into bottle. I often add extra oak, for at least the months, usually longer. Depends on the wine. I add either 1/4 tsp of kmeta every three months or 1/2 tsp every 6 months for 6 gallons of wine. What am I looking for, changes, impressions, feeling when drinking it, nose, does it need something (more tannin, less tannin, something to help mouthfeel, could I add some other wine to help it).

White kits - less time, but not much. Same sort of kmeta schedule.

Red grapes - seldom bottled before a year, sometimes two. I do more testing, ph, acidity, sensory effects, often more oak and tannin.

I don't make many white from grapes.

I'm certain I'm not thinking of everything.

You’re reds, how many times do you rack it?

 

[cosmyccowboy]

Each winemaker that answers this will have something different to say, I can assure you. I don't make many fruit wines any longer, so I won't answer about those.

Red kits - minimum of 6 months, but usually a full year from yeast pitch to into bottle. I often add extra oak, for at least the months, usually longer. Depends on the wine. I add either 1/4 tsp of kmeta every three months or 1/2 tsp every 6 months for 6 gallons of wine. What am I looking for, changes, impressions, feeling when drinking it, nose, does it need something (more tannin, less tannin, something to help mouthfeel, could I add some other wine to help it).

White kits - less time, but not much. Same sort of kmeta schedule.

Red grapes - seldom bottled before a year, sometimes two. I do more testing, ph, acidity, sensory effects, often more oak and tannin.

I don't make many white from grapes.

I'm certain I'm not thinking of everything.

How many times do you rack?

 

[winemaker81]

You’re reds, how many times do you rack it?

The totally correct and yet completely useless answer is, "Only when necessary."

The older books all say to rack every 3 months, and I did that religiously for years. A lot of people do.

I changed my opinion and now rack only when there is significant sediment and before bottling -- if there is no sediment, why am I racking? My 2020 Meritage blend is a good example. So far I have pressed, racked twice, and will rack again before bottling. The intervals are:

day 1, inoculated
9 days later, pressed
31 days later, racked, into barrel, added K-meta
107 days later, racked barrel, homogenized all topup wines, added K-meta
90 days later, K-meta

upcoming:
90 days later, add K-meta
60 days later, rack, add K-meta, bottle

The first racking after pressing eliminated gross lees. I intended to rack a week earlier, but real life interfered.

The next racking was to remove any remaining gross lees (very little there), and I took the opportunity to homogenize all my containers, as this is a blend and I wanted just 1 wine so topup would not change the composition.

During monthly topup I have used a thief to take wine from the bottom of the barrel, and I got only a bit of fine lees, so there is really no value in racking until I'm ready to bottle.

Next week I'll be adding K-meta, and will bottle in November when the new wine is ready to go into the barrel.

When I rack the barrel the last time, I will hold the cane off the bottom so the first 2 carboys are 100% clear wine. for the third carboy (54 liter barrel) I will lower the cane until it hits bottom, then I will redirect to a new container as if there is sediment, this one will get it.

Depending on the result, the last bit of wine will get bottled immediately OR it will go into the fridge for a week to clear OR we'll just drink it.

 

[cmason1957]

You’re reds, how many times do you rack it?

As someone else responded, only when I need to. From my fermentation bucket and pressed, after mlf is complete, then every three to no more than six months. Most homewinemakers rack to often. This is a great hobby for a procrastinator.

 

[hounddawg]

the only variant i see was when @cmason1957 said ask 10 , get 11 different answers, man if anything @cmason1957 was going easy on that 2nd number,,,, Bingo oop's tippsie i meant @winemaker81

Dawg

 

[mikewatkins727]

@winemaker81 said The totally correct and yet completely useless answer is, "Only when necessary."
Me:

As someone else responded, only when I need to. From my fermentation bucket and pressed, after mlf is complete, then every three to no more than six months. Most homewinemakers rack to often. This is a great hobby for a procrastinator.

Don't procrastinate too long that you totally forget the wine! Most beginners have a problem with this as they want to get it into the bottle soonest. After years and years in this hobby I've FINALLY gotten to the point where it may be 3 or 4 months between rackings. Listen to @cmason1957's racking schedule.

 

[winemaker81]

Everyone who replied has a slightly different schedule, but we're all on the same page. Each process is essentially the same; the fine tuning is a bit different.

The most important thing to do in wine making is to think about why we do what we do.

An acquaintance racked his wines monthly, testing the SG each time and tossing the contents of the test jar because it was "contaminated". At the end of the year, he couldn't figure out why he had so much less wine than he expected. No joke, he tossed out close to a bottle per carboy every single month, and could not understand why he had so much less wine than when he started. Several people tried, but we could not get him to change his process.

The second most important thing is what/how. Understand what the many components are, and how they work. I recently read a technical paper that described (in detail that exceeded my memory of Chem 101 & 102) how SO2 binds with contaminants, gets used up, and must be refreshed. It changed my entire outlook on SO2.

Not messing with the wine is hard to do. I want to touch it every week ... but learned not to do it. Barrels help suppress the need, as they need monthly topping, so it gives me something to do. Carboys are tougher, as once the sediment is gone, there's nothing to do.

So I check airlocks monthly and swap them quarterly -- I learned the painful way to not let airlocks go dry, and swapping stoppers and airlocks quarterly keep everything clean.

Still can't resist? Make several small batches to have something to play with.

 

[Bmd2k1]

As a relatively new wine maker still fine tuning my protocol...its great to get feedback from others that have been at it for longer. Thanks 4 sharing!

Cheers!

 

[JohnT]

OK,

how long do you typically age different reds, whites - 18 to 24 months typically
- if you age on oak -- typically for how long - Anywhere from 8 to 36 months. It all depends ....
- how often do you sample - every 1 to 2 weeks.
- what are you looking for when sampling - i am not specifically looking "FOR" anything unless i have a problem that i am aware of.
- any "corrections" you make based on sampling feedback - depends on what specific problem (if any) that i am dealing with.