Wine Kit - aging?

[LakisPakis]

Hello,
I will make this wine:

LE22 California Pinot Grigio Gewurztraminer Wine Recipe Kit - Winexpert Limited Edition

My question is how do I age it? In bottles? I thought once in a bottle the aging is stopped.
I can buy also used barrel. What is better?
Thanks

 

[ChuckD]

Hello,
I will make this wine:

LE22 California Pinot Grigio Gewurztraminer Wine Recipe Kit - Winexpert Limited Edition

My question is how do I age it? In bottles? I thought once in a bottle the aging is stopped.
I can buy also used barrel. What is better?
Thanks

Aging does not stop in bottles but it’s more uniform when the wine is in bulk. If you have the means I would age in bulk for at least 6 months so it can clear naturally then bottle. Make sure you keep the wine cool and dark during aging.

I may get a barrel when the vineyard is producing and my grape supply is consistent. Until then I’ll keep using oak spirals or sticks in glass.

 

[winemaker81]

Since you're making a kit, it's likely that use of kieselsol & chitosan will produce a clear wine, but I fully agree with @ChuckD that you want to bulk age at least 4 months, and his recommendation for 6 months is a good one. After bottling, let the wine rest a couple of months to get past any bottle shock, then open one.

A barrel is NOT a container, it's a commitment.

Once you fill a barrel, you must keep it filled, or you'll end up use it as a planter (unfilled barrels crack and/or grow mold). Not all wines are improved by barrel aging, and I would not barrel age a Pinot Grigio / Gewurztraminer. Besides, you'd need to find a 5 US gallon barrel used for white wine. The most common used barrels are 30 to 60 US gallons, meaning you'd need to make at least 6 kits to fill one.

Do a lot of research on barrels before jumping into that arena. Barrels are great, but buying one changes the nature of your winemaking.

 

[LakisPakis]

Thanks both. Ok I will let it age in glass container for 6 months and then bottle. Question though. As mantioned before the kit comes with kieselsol & chitosan. Should I use those after the 6 months (and only if needed?) Or use them and then transfer the clarified wine into glass for aging 6 months?

 

[winemaker81]

Thanks both. Ok I will let it age in glass container for 6 months and then bottle. Question though. As mantioned before the kit comes with kieselsol & chitosan. Should I use those after the 6 months (and only if needed?) Or use them and then transfer the clarified wine into glass for aging 6 months?

When making a kit, I use K&C right after degassing. If your racking is a bit muddy, any remaining sediment drops during bulk aging.

 

[winemanden]

Barrel, carboy, bottle, it makes no difference. Wine never stops ageing, but it ages differently according to which container you use.

 

[sour_grapes]

Thanks both. Ok I will let it age in glass container for 6 months and then bottle. Question though. As mantioned before the kit comes with kieselsol & chitosan. Should I use those after the 6 months (and only if needed?) Or use them and then transfer the clarified wine into glass for aging 6 months?

This is what I do. I.e., I hold on to the K&C, and only use it if necessary after ~6 mos. or however long I plan to bulk age it.

 

[LakisPakis]

This is what I do. I.e., I hold on to the K&C, and only use it if necessary after ~6 mos. or however long I plan to bulk age it.

Hey . Sorry for repeating my initial question but I got confused with some of the terms used. What is bulk aged? And you do not use K&C? I am a bit afraid to do this with the kit I bought now

I purchased the WineXpert LE22 Pinot Grigio. I was afraid to age it before adding K&C. The instructions say that Aging should be done after polishing Rack (Step 4). Step 3 was clearing.

So I will rack the wine into a glass carboy and add 1/4tsp potassium metabisulhite every 3 months. Will do Aging for 6 months.

But I wanted to make sure I got this right. In theory I could not add Kieselsol and Chitosan and age it (glass carboy) for 6 months. Then rack it OR then add kieselsol and Chitosans (how many days in between) and then rack it and bottling once 100% clear? If someone could write the steps as clearly (steps for dummies) as possible for Bulk aging I would be thankful. I want to do that next time.

 

[Ohio Bob]

Bulk aging is keeping the wine in a carboy, the opposite is bottle aging. K&C is a separate question, you only need it if the wine seems slow to clear, I know this sounds ambiguous. If you bulk age for longer than 6-9 months you don’t need K&C but using it may allow you to bottle sooner, since the wine will clear faster. With a white it’s pretty easy to tell if you have sediment. Also pretty easy to tell if the wine looks hazy. Hope this helps.

 

[sour_grapes]

As @Ohio Bob said, bulk aging is time spent in a carboy or demijohn, as opposed to in bottles.

To try to describe my process simply:

-I move the wine from the fermenting bucket to a glass carboy, and age it for at least 6 mos. No K&C is used up to this point.
-After ~6 mos., I make a decision:
* If the wine is clear, I bottle it without ever using K&C.
*If the wine is NOT clear, I add K&C and re-evaluate.

 

[winemaker81]

Hey . Sorry for repeating my initial question but I got confused with some of the terms used. What is bulk aged? And you do not use K&C? I am a bit afraid to do this with the kit I bought now

Winemaking is not a single process. There are many paths that may be taken, and you'll find that experienced winemakers do a lot of different things, and some options may be contrary to each other. This is actually normal.

For your first few kits, I suggest you follow the instructions. Kit instructions are designed for beginners who have no experienced help. Get comfortable with the process before branching out.

 

[LakisPakis]

Hey now things make sense. Thanks all. One thing that I wondering. As said above I addes K&C and the 6th week I will start aging in carboy. should I use airlock, or a cork , or just a lid,
Thanks

 

[winemaker81]

Hey now things make sense. Thanks all. One thing that I wondering. As said above I addes K&C and the 6th week I will start aging in carboy. should I use airlock, or a cork , or just a lid

Use a drilled stopper/airlock or a vented bung. Your goal now is to protect the wine from O2 while it's aging, so you want a tight seal. Solid bungs are a bad idea since a change in temperature and/or air pressure can make them pop.

I wrote a series of detailed blogs that document the winemaking process. You may find reading a few of these valuable.

https://wine.bkfazekas.com/wines-in-detail/

 

[joeswine]

Thanks both. Ok, I will let it age in a glass container for 6 months and then bottle it. Question though. As mentioned before the kit comes with kieselsol & chitosan. Should I use those after the 6 months (and only if needed?) Or use them and then transfer the clarified wine into a glass for age 6 months?

I bottle all my wines when they are finished and have found very little if no difference in the finish or the taste it also allows me to sample as I go, but that's just my way.

 

[winemanden]

Looks very tasty Joe!

 

[joeswine]

I enjoy the whites easier to go down , grapefruit zest as a nice bit and clean finish , that’s my way