Temperature

[Trubador]

I am now in the "polishing" stage of a Winexpert Selection kit (Merlot).

I will be leaving it in the carboy for about a month to clear, I may even rack one more time during that month to make sure that I've left all the sediment i can behind.

Anyway, how important is temperature during this stage? In other words, does it have to be room temp (66 to 68 degrees) or can I put it in my basement at 58 degrees?

Do temperature fluctuations hurt it at all? For instance, If I go away for a week and turn the heat way down, will it adversely affect the wine?

Thanks in advance....

 

[smurfe]

You should be fine to put it in your basement. It might slow the clearing down a little but it won't hurt your wine. It probably won't even slow the clearing down. My wife keeps the house around 60-62 all the time summer and winter and I freeze but hey, at least she is comfortable. I live in South Louisiana and have had to use a heating pad to get wines fermenting before because she keeps it so cold. The most important thing about temperatures is to try to keep them steady the best you can. You don't want constant temp swings.

Smurfe

 

[cpfan]

As a general rule, I would keep it room temperature for the first couple of days that the wine is clearing. There was a brief discussion about this on Winepress recently, but I can't find it quickly. As I recall, the answer seemed to be as I said.

Cooler temps are supposed to help with clearing, but I would prefer to see visible signs of settling just to make sure everything is happening right. For example, clearing can be slowed by CO2 in the wine. Since CO2 is released better in warmer temps, if I have to do some extra stirring to release CO2, I would like the wine warm already.

Steve