carboys and bottling

[aftermath]

Hi Guys , go easy on me, i am e very new newbie to wine making, doing wine for the first time.

i think i have sorted the sterilizing/sanitation part now ( i am in England and not the US ) so took a while to understand what k-meta is ( pottasium metabisulphate )

in a weeks time my 3 kits should be finished the 2nd fermentation stage, i have 3 new 5 gallon glass carboys to transfer the wine to from my fermenting plastic buckets.

can i leave the wine in these carboys as long as you want , then later on can transfer to bottles , also can i syphon off from the carboys to drink a bottle at a time as required.

I have plenty of wine bottles, 3 spare carboys, and 3 x 10 litre wine boxes with taps on ( these look similar to the commercial boxes of wine in supermarkets.

I notice that most of your pictures show the wine sitting in glass carboys as opposed to plastic containers/fermenter.

what i want to do is to make up 15 bottles of each with labels , and shrink caps and store in my garage , along with 15 bottles of each kit i do from now on. The rest i wanted to transfer to the 10 litre boxes to drink in a few weeks time , along with guests. ? is this ok ?

 

[Teaser]

Im in UK and a newbie too I am finding it difficult working out things too

 

[Boatboy24]

You can keep it in the carboy until bottling, but keep the carboy topped off with an airlock on. If you begin removing a glass/bottle at a time, you are going to increase headspace and expose it to more air - running risk of oxidation. I think most people bulk age in the carboys for a few months, or as long as a year or two, before bottling. I can't help on the boxes, but I think you'd be OK if you were drinking them all in a few weeks time. Hopefully, someone else can chime in on that aspect.

 

[Bartman]

Not sure what kind of kits you are making, but US kits make 6 US gallons of wine, not 5, but perhaps that is just a volume conversion matter and not an upcoming problem for you.

The reason the wine is in glass carboys is to prevent further exposure to air/oxygen after primary fermentation (when the yeast needs oxygen). Plastic fermenting buckets are great for the first couple weeks, but then it needs to go into some kind of air-locked container. Many of us 'bulk-age' (as opposed to bottle-age) our wines in glass carboys (I also use some Better Bottle plastic carboys, the wisdom of which is a point of debate) for 6 months to a year or more to improve the flavor, maturity and structure of the wine depending on the type and what is added to the carboy (flavorings, oak, etc.). Wine that has only been fermented for a few weeks is not going to taste very good, no matter what container it is in; even samples straight out of the carboy will be a shadow of the wine's true flavor.

If you bottle a portion of a full carboy, you will have to rack the remainder to smaller vessels (a 3-gallon carboy or several 1-gallon bottles) if you don't use other more difficult or more expensive alternatives, because the space left at the top will fill with air/oxygen, which will oxidize your wine within a few weeks to a few months, and start it towards becoming vinegar.

As for the 10 liter boxes, I have used a 'bag in a box' made to sit on a refrigerator shelf with a tap at the front. link: http://finevinewines.com/XPListDet1.asp?MM_PartNumber=5210
It's okay for simple whites or sweet wine coolers, but you wouldn't want to store it in there as the plastic bag would probably impart off flavors over months or years. For a couple months, go for it. My problem was getting the 7-liter bags filled past 2/3 without spilling it - it was tricky for me.

 

[robie]

The plastic bags for storing wine will keep the wine about 6 months only. Don't try to use the bags twice; the oxygen barrier breaks down easily.

You really can't serve wine out of a carboy a bit at a time, because the air space that will end up at the top of the wine will cause it to oxidize. Each carboy should remain topped off.

 

[jdrum]

bartman just a thought about filling thoseplastic bags fill them through the tap. first find a tubing that will fit in or over the tap nozzle and draw the remaining air out of the bag, then close the tap then hook the tube from the carboy, would work best with an auto siphon, or better yet a 2 hole bung in the carboy and apply a little pressure to the carboy, then open the tap and watch the juices flow . when bag is full shut off tap.
i dont have any experence with bags but this seems a reasonable way to fill them full.

jim

 

[robie]

bartman just a thought about filling thoseplastic bags fill them through the tap. first find a tubing that will fit in or over the tap nozzle and draw the remaining air out of the bag, then close the tap then hook the tube from the carboy, would work best with an auto siphon, or better yet a 2 hole bung in the carboy and apply a little pressure to the carboy, then open the tap and watch the juices flow . when bag is full shut off tap.
i dont have any experence with bags but this seems a reasonable way to fill them full.

jim

If you fill them full, they won't fit into their carrier. I put 2 gallons in each bag. I just fill mine to where I want them; install the nozzle; raise the nozzle level above the wine level; open the nozzle; squeeze the bag; and let out as much air as possible.

The bag system is really great for summer wines, as they tend to go fast. No worry about half a bottle being left over and oxidating.

 

[BernardSmith]

@Bratman, I am originally from Scotland and US 6 gallons is what is called 5 gallons imperial (UK) . The British pint is about 20 fl oz while a US pint is about 16 fl oz. A pint of beer in the USA is kinda meager if you are used to British pints