bulk aging time and temperature

[shanek17]

I have finally bottled my first big batch of wine and got 30 bottles out of it, so I will now have wine on hand for awhile. Now the other wines I have can bulk age for awhile but Im not sure about the Ins and Outs. Im currently degassing my other wines with a drill whip and i got thinking about letting them naturally degas by bulk ageing.

So roughly how long does it take for a wine to naturally degas? And another question I have is what temperatures should bulk aging be done at ? I have an apple chocolate wine currently sitting in my basement as I wanted it to bulk age, I stuck it in the basement because Im thinking of the cold cellars that people store there wines in for long periods. But then today I was thinking about the gassy co2 in wine and how it need warm temperatures to easily come out, so now im wondering if bulk aging needs warm temperatures for the co2 to escape?

 

[Bartman]

I bulk age a minmum of 6 months, racking at least once during that time. If I have the patience or lack the energy, I will leave it to bulk age for 9-12 months. Two days ago, I bottled my 2011 fresh grapes 'Chianti' blend (2/3 Sangiovese, 1/3 Barbera) after bulk aging since November, so that's about 9 months. It was thoroughly degassed in that time, but I kept in a ~ 75 degree room, not a cool basement. I always ferment to dry in the primary (about 10-12 days from starting the yeast), and have never had a wine that was gassy after 6 months (possibly sooner, but I didn't bottle until 6 months).

 

[shanek17]

I bulk age a minmum of 6 months, racking at least once during that time. If I have the patience or lack the energy, I will leave it to bulk age for 9-12 months. Two days ago, I bottled my 2011 fresh grapes 'Chianti' blend (2/3 Sangiovese, 1/3 Barbera) after bulk aging since November, so that's about 9 months. It was thoroughly degassed in that time, but I kept in a ~ 75 degree room, not a cool basement. I always ferment to dry in the primary (about 10-12 days from starting the yeast), and have never had a wine that was gassy after 6 months (possibly sooner, but I didn't bottle until 6 months).

wow. just 10-12 days for fermenting to dry? my batches i ferment warm like 75ish and they take up to 4 weeks i think. maybe its because you use a yeast starter? thats good to know your winw degasses at 6 months in a room temp room, thats good info for me to know.

 

[pete1325]

Will racking more often during bulk ageing help the wine to degass? I keep mine in my basement where the temps are around 67 degrees and my wines are still a little gassey. They have been ageing since late November. I bottled a three gallons last week and had to shake the ba-jesus out of the wine to degass it before bottleing. I still have 12 gallons to bottle.......

 

[shanek17]

Will racking more often during bulk ageing help the wine to degass? I keep mine in my basement where the temps are around 67 degrees and my wines are still a little gassey. They have been ageing since late November. I bottled a three gallons last week and had to shake the ba-jesus out of the wine to degass it before bottleing. I still have 12 gallons to bottle.......

thatz a good question.. i just considered this today about my wine. i thought maybe gebtly transfering it may be enough agitation to knock out some co2. i was just reading on the forums here that putting things in the wine agitates the wine and helps release the co2. i think they were using the example of putting a air stone in the wine or marbles of something.

so your wines are 8months old and still gassy... hmmm so maybe your cooler temps have to do with it. did you allow them to sit in warm temps after fermentation to gas off at all?

 

[Bartman]

Yes, gently racking is a very good way of degassing, as it accomplishes two essential tasks: remove the sediment that falls out during bulk aging and briefly expose the entire volume of wine to air by disturbing it so it will help agitate the CO2 out of solution. Racking 4-5 times in 6 months is overkill, and the excess oxgen exposure will begin to oxidize the wine, which you will regret. K-meta's capacity to limit or prevent that oxidization is another reason to make sure you have enough in the wine. There's a balancing to be done there, as too much k-meta leads to a rotten eggs smell and other problems, but that's the art of winemaking. Not every batch will be a masterpiece, but you try hard nonetheless.

I live in Dallas, so I don't have a basement; my spare bathroom upstairs is where the wine is fermented and bulk aged. In the summer, that bathroom can get a few degrees warmer than the rest of the upstairs, but I doubt it ever gets over 80 for more than 1 hour a day, if that. The degree to which the ambient temperature affects the degassing of wine is an ongoing debate, and not one that can be reduced to a formula, I believe.

 

[kahaas56]

I currently have my wine in the secondary(5 days in). If i decide to bulk age to let my degas naturally, at what point do u add the stabilizer and fining agents? Plus when do u top up the wine when letting is degas naturally?

 

[Bartman]

By "(5 days in)", I assuem you mean you have had your wine in a carboy for 5 days and are deciding whether/how long to bulk age. I usually add k-meta to stabilize after I know it is done fermenting and am ready to rack to another carboy (2nd racking) - usually about four weeks after pitching the yeast. Then, if I am bulk-aging for 6 months or so, I will usually only add k-meta again shortly before bottling; if I am bulk-aging for 9 months or more, I may add another 1/8 teaspoon of k-meta midway at a later racking (in which case it would be three k-meta doses total).
I rarely use fining agents nowadays. The double benefit of bulk-aging is that it naturally degasses AND clarifies itself through gravity over time. Grape wines are better at this than other fruit wines, I believe. Some fruit wines may leave a pectic haze that must be dealt with. Some say white wines look even better after bulk aging and using clarifying agents, but I personally can't see an appreciable effect, but it does little harm to try either way.

I do not top up with wine (unless I have some left over from the first racking), although your filled carboy's wine level should be maintained at or within the neck of the carboy during bulk aging. You can cheat (with the level down around the shoulders of the carboy) for a few weeks if you have adequate k-meta in it, but you're playing with fire, and are at risk of oxidizing your wine and diminishing its quality. I add glass marbles to the carboy instead of topping up, to displace any excess headroom and raise the level of the wine.