WineXpert How do you age your wine kits/brews?

[AquaCom]

Hi. I've been brewing kits for a while and tending to stick with Wine Expert kits at the moment.

I have 3 kits "bulk-ageing" at the moment:

Selection International - Australian Cab/Shiraz
Selection International - Chilean Merlot
Selection Limited Edition - Italian Brunello

I tend to age them in Youngs Fermenters (image attached), which I beleive are referred to as carboys in the US.

Just after some opinions. Is this the best way to bulk age wine brewed from kits or is there is better way?

Thanks.

 

[PPBart]

... I tend to age them in Youngs Fermenters (image attached), which I beleive are referred to as carboys in the US.

Just after some opinions. Is this the best way to bulk age wine brewed from kits or is there is better way?

Thanks.

I'm not familiar with Youngs Fermenters but after checking their website I think they would be fine for primary fermentation and secondary fermentation. Personally, I use plastic vessels only for primary fermentation; secondary fermentation and aging is always in glass carboys. I know the plastic carboys have gotten better in recent years, but I still prefer glass.

 

[AquaCom]

Thanks very much for the reply.
I tend to carry out primary fermentation in a Youngs Bucket (more surface area for gas exchange) and then rack into the Carboy for secondary fermentation. Maybe I need to look at glass carboy's for ageing. I suspect they are not cheap being made of glass but maybe worth the initial investment.

 

[robie]

When making commercial wine and aging them in oak barrels, degassing is something that is done naturally.

For kits, it is important that you do a really good job of degassing. The first several months of bulk aging can help get rid of any excess CO2 gas by adding an air lock on top of the carboy. As the CO2 lifts off the wine, it is expelled through the air lock.

I can't tell if this vessel accepts an air lock or not. If it doesn't, you will need to do a really good job of degassing before you bulk age in this vessel, as no degassing will take place in a completely sealed vessel.

By the way, I use plastic carboys all the time for aging... (with an airlock installed during the first 6 months or so).

 

[AquaCom]

Thanks Robie.

For primary fermentation, in the plastic bucket, I have adopted the lid to
take an air lock/bubble trap and a heater (aquarium heater).

For secondary fermentation and ageing I use the plastic carboy, which has a hole in the lid for a bung and/or air lock. I currently then store the wine in the secondary vessle for ageing.

So, I'm just wondering if/what the benefit is of moving to a glass vessle for ageing. Apart from the cosmetic appeal of couse.

Cheers, Stuart

 

[robie]

Thanks Robie.

For primary fermentation, in the plastic bucket, I have adopted the lid to
take an air lock/bubble trap and a heater (aquarium heater).

For secondary fermentation and ageing I use the plastic carboy, which has a hole in the lid for a bung and/or air lock. I currently then store the wine in the secondary vessle for ageing.

So, I'm just wondering if/what the benefit is of moving to a glass vessle for ageing. Apart from the cosmetic appeal of couse.

Cheers, Stuart

In my opinion, there is no benefit in glass over a good, food-grade plastic. This is an ongoing battle that no one is ever going to win. It is a matter of preference. I said I age in plastic, but I also age in glass. I have some of each, but I have more glass than plastic.

I like plastic because, even after you stop using an air lock and install a solid bung as tightly as you can, as temperature changes, air will be drawn into and out of a glass carboy. It is simple expansion principles. With a plastic carboy, the bottle itself can expand and contract without creating a vacuum or excess pressure inside. This results in less air exchange.

If you drop a glass carboy .vs. dropping a plastic carboy...

Glass is not likely to absorb odors and tastes over time.

If you don't want to spend the extra money for glass, don't. Just keep the plastic carboys clean.

 

[AquaCom]

Thanks very much. Sounds like good advice to me.

 

[PPBart]

In my opinion, there is no benefit in glass over a good, food-grade plastic. This is an ongoing battle that no one is ever going to win. It is a matter of preference... Just keep the plastic carboys clean.

It's not only a matter of preference, but also of possession -- for those of us who started winemaking a decade or more ago, plastic vessels for aging really were not an option. We bought glass, which really doesn't wear out, so (as noted above) unless it's dropped ...

 

[robie]

I have more glass than plastic, because a guy sold me all his glass carboys when he decided to stop making wine. (Can you believe anyone would stop!!!!) I would just as well have bought the carboys had they been plastic.

Yep, that is another plus for glass - if not dropped, they will last forever. I figure that after repeated washings, plastic carboys could become scratched, which could make it difficult to keep them really clean.

Another disadvantage of plastic is - if you want to move a carboy that is plastic, filled with wine, and having an air lock, you really must remove the airlock before lifting it. If not, when you lift the neck, it will suck all the liquid out of the air lock and into the wine. (Care to ask how I know? .... )

 

[AquaCom]

Another disadvantage of plastic is - if you want to move a carboy that is plastic, filled with wine, and having an air lock, you really must remove the airlock before lifting it. If not, when you lift the neck, it will suck all the liquid out of the air lock and into the wine. (Care to ask how I know? .... )

Done that myself a couple of times
You'd think I would have learnt my lesson first time around though.
Nothing quite like sucking stale, horrible old water into your expensive brew eh

 

[robie]

Done that myself a couple of times
You'd think I would have learnt my lesson first time around though.
Nothing quite like sucking stale, horrible old water into your expensive brew eh

Maybe that is a good reason for us to switch to using vodka in the air locks. It is pretty much nothing but alcohol, which couldn't hurt our wine much.

 

[AquaCom]

That's actually not a bad idea. I have a bottle in the cupboard and I don't drink the stuff, so maybe finally a good use for it....

 

[phermenter]

Another disadvantage of plastic is - if you want to move a carboy that is plastic, filled with wine, and having an air lock, you really must remove the airlock before lifting it. If not, when you lift the neck, it will suck all the liquid out of the air lock and into the wine. (Care to ask how I know? .... )

I stumbled on the solution to this problem: Use the three-piece airlock. The S-shaped airlock has solution that can be pulled in or pushed out. The three-piece has its solution in a chamber that can't be drawn in.

Jim

 

[phermenter]

P.S.: I, too, have both glass and plastic (Better Bottles). I use the glass for long-term aging and the BBs for secondary and sometimes for a final racking a couple weeks before bottling. For each of my three plastic carboys, I have a three-piece airlock.

One of the advantages of the plastic is you can heat it more easily with a Brew Belt if you find the wine needs more degassing. A 75-degree degassing is a good way to avoid bottling gassy wine.

Jim

 

[AquaCom]

Hi Jim. Thanks for that info. I've not seen/heard of the three peice airlock; unless it's known as something else.
I'll have a search around, but if you have any web links you can point me to that would be helpful.

Thanks, Stuart

 

[robie]

There is a dry/trap air lock for the better bottle.

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/winemaking-equipment/fermentation-equipment/better-bottles-accessories.html

Now that should protect us from ourselves!!!

 

[AquaCom]

Thanks Robie

 

[phermenter]

Hi Jim. Thanks for that info. I've not seen/heard of the three peice airlock; unless it's known as something else.
I'll have a search around, but if you have any web links you can point me to that would be helpful.

Thanks, Stuart

Stuart: Here's a look at both, side by side.

http://www.northernbrewer.com/winem...-fermenting-equipment/wine-fermentation-locks

Jim

 

[phermenter]

There is a dry/trap air lock for the better bottle.

http://www.midwestsupplies.com/winemaking-equipment/fermentation-equipment/better-bottles-accessories.html

Now that should protect us from ourselves!!!

As much as I like the Better Bottles, I find their accessories so outrageously overpriced I rarely even look at them. This one looks like an interesting contraption, but $14.95??? I'll just stick with the 99-cent airlock.

Jim

 

[AquaCom]

Thank you Jim.
I've just spent half an hour trying to find someone over here in the UK selling these, but no luck. I've just had a thought though that I have seen a couple of these in my "spares" box in the garage, not realising what they were
So I might be in luck...