Aging Wine

Is there a differnce (once the wine is clear) between

Aging for 3 months in the DJ, and 3 in the bottle

vs

Aging 6 months in the DJ, then bottle and drink

?

Yes, the wine that is aged 3/3 has time to chill from "bottle shock" . 6/0 does not have time to recover from bottle shock, unless you're going to drink the DJ all in one sitting, which might be fun with friends!

Also there is relatively less head space in a demijohn or carboy compared to a bottle, so there's less oxygen exposure... not a big a deal in your timeframe, but it's another factor to consider.

The time frames were examples, but if I understand the above 2 responses properly, the bulk of your aging is better done in a DJ (due to head space) but then it needs a while in a bottle to get over the "shock" - yes?

How long does bottle shock recovery take?

Basically, yes. The wine ages more consistently in a larger container. Bulk aging is great- the temperature swings are much more gradual, and the wine is consistent throughout the batch. Bottling shock is gone in about 30 days, give or take, usually.

So what does young or "green" wine taste like. I just opened my first Grand Cru Petite Sirah and didn't really like it. I Pitched the yeast on 11/15/08 and its been in the bottle for a little more than a month now.....I realize its young......I'm hoping it will get better....

Wild Duk said:

So what does young or "green" wine taste like. I just opened my first Grand Cru Petite Sirah and didn't really like it. I Pitched the yeast on 11/15/08 and its been in the bottle for a little more than a month now.....I realize its young......I'm hoping it will get better....

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Young wine has different flavors- some are just "unmelded"- that is, you can taste the oak, the grapes, the tannin, all separately. It's weird, but not terribly unpleasant. Sometimes it's harsh (tannin), especially in red wines. It doesn't have a distinctive taste, like young beer does. It can be very "blah", or very astringent.

If you just bottled a month ago, and the wine is only a couple of months old, it's way too young and it definitely will change dramatically in the next three or four months (up to two years).