WineXpert Bulk Aging

[peterCooper]

I'm looking at the catalog and a number of the wines benefit from bulk
aging for 6 months or more. I've been thinking about what to bulk age in.
Obviously I don't want to tie up my only carboy. I do have though 5 gallon
water bottles from the water cooler at the office.

Can I use that for bulk aging? I presume it is food grade plastic because it is
used for water. My biggest concern would be getting it clean and then how
to seal properly.

Any thoughts?Edited by: peterCooper

 

[MedPretzel]

If you want my serious opinion, here it goes:





Get another glass carboy.





It just makes life a whole lot easier. You don't have to worry about anything (scratches in plastic harbor those insurgent bacteria) if it's in a nice, clean, sanitized glass carboy with a bung/airlock.





No worries, and plus, you can always make more than one wine!





All it is is 20 bucks/no shipping.... I know your wine is worth that!!!





Plastic jugs usually take a 9-10 bung.... That would work too.

Edited by: MedPretzel

 

[Jackie]

Buy more carboys. You will want more carboys (more than two but that's a start). I started with a few 3 gallon carboys, now 4 yrs later I have six 3 gallon, four 5 gallon, and two 6 gallon. This hobby is addictive.


Besides if you don't have two carboys, every time you need to rack you have to do it twice (once to a bucket so you can clean the carboy) and that exposes the wine to more oxygen.


You don't have to bulk age though. You need to let it sit long enough to be sure the wine is clear and finished dropping sediment (which takes longer with fruit or fresh grape wines than kit wines). After that bottle aging is just as good as bulk aging. I've done both.


I would not recommend using those water bottles for bulk aging. There are lots of different food grade plastics but most are not impermeable to air. That's fine for water but over time oxygen will ruinwine. Glass does not allow air in. The plastic they use for those water bottles is not the same grade that is used for carbonated beverages . The water bottleswould probably be okay as a secondary fermentor because the wine doesn't stay there very long and there's co2 from fermentation to help protect it.


When using plastic, keep an eye out for scratches because you can't sanitize in those little scratches very well and make sure it does not absorb odors so you don't get off flavors in the next batch (although baking soda goes a long way to get rid of odors). Edited by: Jackie

 

[Jackie]

I forgot to mention, most all wines benefit from 6 months or more aging (except the "mist" cooler type wines).The manufacturers usually list the minimum aging time but expect it to be longer if you want the wine to be at its best, especially if you like red wines (whites are drinkable sooner than reds). I think red wines from the premium kits(15 litres or more) are"okay" after 6 mos but very good after one year and even better after two years. I give whites 6 mos to a year aging. That's just my opinion.Edited by: Jackie

 

[peterCooper]

I think I'm getting the point.
Scratch that as an idea.
Add a couple of carboys to the shopping list.
Do we have the same distinction between the plastic Better Bottles and glass
carboys?

 

[PolishWineP]

I like the Better Bottle okay for short-term use, but as far as bulk aging, love your wine, give it the best, use glass. Don't use YOUR wine as a testing ground for equipment. YOUR wine is far too valuable to you to find out that maybe plastic isn't the best for bulk aging. One of the great advantages to bulk aging is that it's far harder to drink a wine before it's time bottle by bottle if it's still in a carboy!

Did I mention, get glass for bulk aging?

 

[peterCooper]

That makes a lot of sense.
The glass carboy does seem real easy to keep clean.
I'm getting the idea about the value of the wine too. Even my first kit
wine tastes better than I usually buy at the store, and that's without the
ownership value and the pride in being able to do it.

My niece came over to stay during hurricane Rita, which thankfully did not
impact Huntsville quite like it was forecast to do. Not only did she help
me get a new Sangiovese started (which I think has gotten her bitten too)
but she refused to leave without a bottle of my Chianti, which we had
sampled the previous night.

When there's a hurricane in town by the way, starting a new batch is a
great way of passing the time and taking your mind of things.

 

[PolishWineP]

That's the kind of attitude that made America great and wine in the carboys. Kind of like baking up here during a bad winter storm!

 

[Angell Wine]

how long do you leave an airlock on a carboy if you are bulk aging? 3,4,5 etc.. months or until you are finished.

 

[Hippie]

Indefinitely, topped up well. You have to remember to check liquid in airlocks also. One reason for bulk aging is to ensure the wine is stable before bottling. If it happened to not be stable, you want an airlock.

 

[Angell Wine]

thanks

 

[Jackie]

I have 3 better bottles and I love them. They are light, easy to clean (just soaking, no scrubbing needed), and you don't have to worry about breaking them. I have bulk aged for 4 months in one with no problems (after 4 mos I usually bottle). I still use glass because I have them but any new carboys I buy will be better-bottles. I buy the non-ported and use #10 bung because I think the attachments are expensive but the carboy alone is about the same price as glass.


Below is a quote from Tim Vandergrift of Winexpert from Feb 13, 2005:
<DIV =postcolor>"I did an extensive evaluation of the Better-Bottle products with their inventor last year. They're a very good product, and perform as advertised: low O2 permeability, easy cleaning, transparent, etc. Like I always say, I've never seen a glass carboy bounce.

The only drawbacks are their expense--and the accessories are again expensive, and I don't recommend ported carboys with drains on them anyway.
<DIV =postcolor>
<DIV =postcolor>The answer is yes, you can successfully age in Better Bottle carboys. The oxy transfer rate isn't substantially behind glass, and you'll get a higher rate of transfer through the bung in either type of carboy over the long term. "