oak, carboy or bottles?

[Dominick]

Hi:


I was wondering what is the bestmedium to age wine in.


1. Oak Barrels (French or American)/(Bulk Age)


2. Carboy (Bulk age)


3. Bottles


I was just thinking maybe bulk aging is a better idea then bottling?
Just trying to figure the reasons as to why bulk aging would be better.


Another reason I was thinking is, I will be doing both, making wine from kits and making wine from home grown grapes.


I was thinking maybe instead of bottling up my natural grapes to throw that juice in a barrel and keep adding more juice as the years go by to fill a big barrel of my natural wine from the grapes I grow. - The bad idea of this is I think I need to fill the barrel to the TOP in one shot, and not to fill it little by little. (I'm new to this so still learning)


For the kit wine, I think depending on the variety I got which peaks in 2 years is to bulk age the winekit juicein the carboy for 8/9months and then bottle it and let the bottle age for another 8/9months before trying it out. -


Thanks

 

[Dominick]

PS: Where do you guys/gals pick up some good solid oak barrels for cheap in the states?


I see the america oak is under 300$ for 20Liter, but the 20Liter French oak Barrel is like $500+ (toasted Med+)


thnx-Edited by: Dominick

 

[JimCook]

Dominick,


Here's a website for some great barrels and very affordable prices: http://www.vadaiwinebarrels.com/index.asp


Aging a wine in barrels is completely different than carboys or bottles thanks to the 'breathing' of the oak, causing water to evaporate out through the oak, resulting in a loss of the 'angel's share' of wine (and consequently requiring consistent topping up). Because of this microoxygenation and flavor concentration, the world of barrel aging is different than carboy or bottle aging. This subject was addressed very well in George's newsletter from March (check April for an updated chart for this article). It can be found here: http://www.finevinewines.com/March_2008.htm#LETTER.BLOCK8


Here is a link detailing potential barrel aging times for a 20L barrel as well: http://www.winepress.us/forums/index.php?s=&showtopic=22899&view=findpost&p=245865




- JimEdited by: JimCook

 

[Wade E]

Jim couldnt have said it any better. Bulk aging a kit wine is good to allow the wine to become more consistent from bottle to bottle and the fact that there is 6 gallons versus 750 ml. is a better way to age a wine if your cellaring conditions are not great as in fluctuating temps. It takes much more energy to lower or raise the 6 gallons versus a 750ml bottle of wine and when the temps fluctuate it makes the bottles of wine expand and contract which results in the wine breathing and exhaling causing oxidation.

 

[uavwmn]

Wade, should I rack a second time off the lees, then add the stabilizer and clearing agent?
I let it "bulk age" for a few weeks and want to add the stabilizer, etc.
Also, do I add another 1/4 t of k meta? (I added it a few weeks ago)

 

[Wade E]

As far as racking off lees it depends on what fining agent you are using. If using SuperKleer then you can rack off lees, if using Isinglass then you need to stir the lees into suspension as it requires lees to work properly. You will not need to add another dose of k-meat at this time as there is plenty of S02 in your wine presently.