1st Gran Barolo

[Brad Simmons]

Just made my first Barolo. It is a MM All Juice Master's Edition - very psyched.

Any tips or tricks? I am following the instructions to a T. Any tips?

 

[Goodfella]

You may want to consider bulk aging???

 

[Brad Simmons]

bulk aging (carboy as opposed to bottling, right?) will give me..... (new to this, sorry).

 

[JimCook]

If you're going to follow the instructions dead on, then the benefits of bulk aging may only serve to delay the inevitable bottling event. If you're in a 'finished state' in a matter of six weeks or so, you're best bet is probably just to bottle. If the instructions note to include the yeast nutrient, do so and keep a steadyeye on the specific gravity. Remember, if your wine is planning on being in the bottle for some time, Mosti normally includes a note for the potential addition of a little K-Meta at the time of bottling to help keep the sulfite levels solid in the bottle for a longer period of time.


- Jim

 

[fivebk]

Bulk aging in the carboy will let your wine age at the same rate . Sometimes when you bottle the wine can age at different rates ( maybe one cork breathes more than another or is exposed to a little different varient in temperature, the wine is in smaller quantities etc. )
I like bulk aging in the carboy if you have the carboys to do so.

BOB

 

[Brad Simmons]

great input guys - I appreciate the tips.

Question - I am making a Barolo and an Amarone - so what do I top off with? I know I should use a "similar" wine, but sheesh, I don't know if I can even find a Barolo here. Any ideas?

 

[Goodfella]

Topping off with a Barolo can be expensive, and tough to find (depending where you live). Some people will recommend just using another heavy red.
Personally.... I racked down to a 5 gallon carboy, a half gallon jug, and a bottle.

 

[Wade E]

I agree with above statement as these 2 wines can be very expensive to purchase commercially especially if you need more then one bottle. Using a full bodied red wine will work fine but if you need to use much then a 5 gallon carboy would be more beneficial in the long run and instead of buying 2 for both of these batches you could use 1 to top up the other and then rack the other to the 5 gallon carboy.