Bulk Aging

[Jacktar]

I've made some cheapy Costco wine kits before and I was happy them, but they lacked body. I recently bought a Cellar Craft Showcase which cost about 4 times more than the Costco kit. I'm thinking it's worthy of bulk aging; however, there are no instructions for this with the kit. I have a few questions.

1. Should I leave the wine in the carboy for an entire year before bottling?

2. Do I complete all steps (minus botting) and leave in the carboy? Do I complete all additions of Chitosan, wood cubes, etc, and then just leave he wine alone in the carboy? Or do I alter how I do these additions?

3. Do I need to stir to degas or will time just take care of this? How long does it take?

4. Should I use an airlock to bulk age or should I cap it somehow, at some point?

5. Any reason why you'd recommend that I not bulk age?




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[Descender]

Rack it every time you get 1/4 inch of sediment. If it is totally cleared and done fermenting, a rubber stopper will work. I would suggest an airlock, though, just to be safe. Is your storage area temperature controlled? Temperature swings of even a few degrees can cause air to bubble back.

 

[WilliamSlayer]

Follow all the steps and add at least 1/4 tsp extra metabisulfite (or more) for each 6gallons. I would airlock and chk that airlock every month or two to make sure it does not go dry.

 

[beerdrinker]

The only downside I can think of is more on a sanitization front. If left for that long in a carboy if there are any issues it will effect the whole batch whereas if you bottle and age in the bottle any sanitization issues would be due to the bottle and impact only that bottle and not the entire batch.

Another idea to consider is getting a smaller 2.5/3 gallon carboy and filling it up for aging and then bottling the rest so you can compare and test out the wine earlier to compare with the benefits of aging.

Full disclosure, I'm more seasoned at brewing beer and just starting out with winemaking.

 

[Jacktar]

Ok, so I'll use an airlock and make sure it doesn't go dry. So I add at least 1.5 tap of metabisulfate. Should I add more? What happens if you add too much?

How about degassing? Do I whip it or just let it offgas naturally over time?


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[JEnglish]

If your going to let it sit for a year, just let if offgas naturally.

 

[WilliamSlayer]

Ok, so I'll use an airlock and make sure it doesn't go dry. So I add at least 1.5 tap of metabisulfate. Should I add more? What happens if you add too much?

How about degassing? Do I whip it or just let it offgas naturally over time?


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What is your batch size? If it is 35 gallons or so, then yes, 1.5 tsp of metabisulfite would be correct (I recommend 1/4 of a tsp for every 6 gallons). Adding too much can bring sulfite levels to the point where they are going to be able to taste it (think about a taste like sucking on a match head). However, many commercial wines sulfite at much higher levels than the one I am recommending, so don't panic if a bit extra slips in.

 

[DoctorCAD]

Just follow Jack Kellers 180 day extended kit directions. That will really help with a good quality kit.