Method for determining when "it is done"

[frtrey]

So as I have perused the forums, I've learned that wine making is a great deal like beer making. Patience is required - though moreso with wine than beer. I think the longest I've gone before I could drink my hobby was about 6 months for a nice quad.

So from what I have gleaned, the nicer the kit - the longer they should stay. But I'm still left with three questions. All of these are post primary fermentation questions.

1) Batch aging in a carboy seems to be popular (though I've not seen it in any instructions that I've read) - how do you know when it is a good idea to do it and when it isn't and does it help carve time off of bottle aging? How do you determine how long you keep it in that state before bottling?

2) How do you determine how long you keep it in the bottle before it is ready to consume? Do reds take longer than whites?

3) How does one determine what a "quick" kit is? By that, I mean, I know the Mezza Luna red has been mentioned - but would most of the, uh, lower end reds make a decent table red if you cut a gal of water out and aged them total for 2-4 months? I'm looking for general purpose wine that is a step up from Carlo here whilst the Barolo ages.

 

[ColdClimateWines]

You ask some deep questions on the edge of being an impatient tippler. Must be the beer maker in you!

Ok so reds and whites can take the same time, or longer. You should be tasting after one week, or when the violent ferment stops. Till u learn it's the best way to pick up on problems. If u oak ( many reds, few whites) it takes time for the wine come to roundness. The structure of the tannins need time with the wine.

If u want to drink your wine young, rack young, frequently, perhaps sorbet at 1010 and bottle as a Nouveau within 3 months. Keep cool and consume young.

 

[cpfan]

Basically you can drink ANY KIT as soon as it is in bottle. (BTW you shouldn't bottle if the wine is fizzy, not clear, contains sediment, ...)

I ran a Ferment on Premises store for 6 years. No matter how much I suggested to customers that you let the wine age for a while, nearly all of them started drinking the wine as soon as it was bottled. I recall one customer in particular who would start a kit while bottling the previous one, and it would be all gone by the time that the new one was ready.

So just make something that you think you will like, and drink it when you feel like it. It would be a good idea to stash some away for a year, so that you can see if your taste buds notice the difference,

BTW, I do not agree with the idea of making a 6USG kit as a 5USG kit. I realize that many people do it. However, I suspect that doing that will increase the amount of time for the wine to reach maturity.

Steve

 

[SpoiledRotten]

BTW, I do not agree with the idea of making a 6USG kit as a 5USG kit. I realize that many people do it. However, I suspect that doing that will increase the amount of time for the wine to reach maturity.

Glad someone posted that. I had felt almost guilty about trying to get a full batch out of a kit because others stated that it was best to hold back on the water content at first. This last kit, I added the full amount of water to bring it to "almost" the 6 gallon mark.

 

[TonyP]

The questions you ask can each take a chapter in a wine making book. Here's some brief information.

1) Batch aging in a carboy seems to be popular (though I've not seen it in any instructions that I've read) - how do you know when it is a good idea to do it and when it isn't and does it help carve time off of bottle aging? How do you determine how long you keep it in that state before bottling?

To a large extent, bulk versus bottle aging is a matter of personal preference. I'm confident most wine makers believe, however, that bulk aging is at least as good as bottle and perhaps better. (I think only a small number believe bottle aging to be superior.) Bulk aging allows the wine to degas and clarify properly, permits you to more easily make corrections if a problem is encountered, and bulk wine is less influenced by environmental factors. Having said all that, sealing issues could be disastrous to bulk aged wine and should be monitored.

2) How do you determine how long you keep it in the bottle before it is ready to consume? Do reds take longer than whites?

The greatest impact of aging on wine relates to the unique chemical changes that occur. Over time, chemical compounds in wine react to climatic and other influences to metamorphose (I think that's the word.) the wine into something much different in taste, look, and smell than what it was before. Sometimes these changes are good, others bad. And sometimes they're only good for a while, which is why a wine may be excellent in two years and not as good a year later.

Thus, each wine has it's own timetable and is dependent on environmental conditions. For example, wine stored at 75 degrees will age more quickly than wine at 55 degrees.

3) How does one determine what a "quick" kit is? By that, I mean, I know the Mezza Luna red has been mentioned - but would most of the, uh, lower end reds make a decent table red if you cut a gal of water out and aged them total for 2-4 months? I'm looking for general purpose wine that is a step up from Carlo here whilst the Barolo ages.

My first suggestion is to avoid adjusting the concentration to speed-up the process. There are many wines kit makers note to be quick. Try focusing on a style and work from there. Overall, though, whites are drinkable early.

 

[frtrey]

Gents, thank you very much!

 

[frtrey]

Thus, each wine has it's own timetable and is dependent on environmental conditions. For example, wine stored at 75 degrees will age more quickly than wine at 55 degrees.

Tony, I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that if I store it at a higher temperature - even though it will age quickly, it will not (in the case of reds) age properly or at least age well? I keep my ales in 65-72 degrees year round. If I were to age a red at that temperature would I harm it because the aging process would be "rushed"?

 

[GreginND]

Tony, I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that if I store it at a higher temperature - even though it will age quickly, it will not (in the case of reds) age properly or at least age well? I keep my ales in 65-72 degrees year round. If I were to age a red at that temperature would I harm it because the aging process would be "rushed"?

I don't buy that. The wine may age faster and even possibly be detectably different than a wine aged slower but that doesn't mean it is "harmed".

 

[TonyP]

Tony, I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that if I store it at a higher temperature - even though it will age quickly, it will not (in the case of reds) age properly or at least age well? I keep my ales in 65-72 degrees year round. If I were to age a red at that temperature would I harm it because the aging process would be "rushed"?

I don't know what is meant by "harm", but want to mention the impacts of temperature. Aging is a combination of positive (desirable) and negative (undesirable) impacts on wine.

Wine aging is the result of many chemical changes and reactions that occur over time. Some of these reactions are dependent on earlier reactions, so there is a certain order occurring. These reactions are affected differently by temperature. In addition, some of these reactions occur only within certain temperature ranges. This is why temperature affects wine.

At higher temperatures some negative reactions take place that would not occur at lower temperatures. Perhaps what you'd call harmful.

Thus, wine aged at higher temperatures will look and taste differently than wine aged at lower temperatures. To the extent these differences occur from the loss of positive impacts or creation of negative impacts, the result is less desirable wine.