Any reason not to bottle?

[crabjoe]

I made the below fro. A pail of juice.. The yeast was pitched on 9/16.

As you can see, I've got it crystal clear in 2 months.. that was done with the help if Bentonite, Sparkolloid, and a 1 micron filter.

Now I'm at the aging stage.. like many others I don't have enough carboys. Also from what I keep reading, wine ages quicker bottles, so now what?

Is the wine that much better if aged in the carboy versus in a bottle or is it more about having a more consistent wine from bottle to bottle because it was aged in the same carboy?

Man, do I want to bottle, but I'm unsure...

 

[Rocky]

Great looking wine. Keeping it in the carboy for 6 months will still drop some sediment. If you bottle now, you are likely to get a slight amount of sediment in the bottles.

Here are four whites I have going at this time. The first is a Sauvignon Blanc which I racked on 6-10 and 6-17. I will rack one more time before bottling in mid December. The second is a Traminer Riesling which was racked on 7-28, 8-24 and 10-5. I will rack one more time before bottling in Jan 2020. Third is a Chenin Blanc which was racked and sulfited on 10-20. I will rack in the next few days and rack one more time before bottling in Mar-Apr 2020. Last is a French Columbard which was racked and sulfited on 10-18. I will rack this again within the next few days and one more time before bottling in Mar-Apr 2020.

 

[Johnd]

If you are happy with the taste and don't plan any adjustments, the only reason not to bottle is potential development of sediment. I did a strawberry wine this year, looked like yours after a couple months, it was filtered with .5 micron filter, sweetened, and was crystal clear. I bottled it. 60 days later there was a light dusting of white sediment in the bottom. No big deal, but I wish I'd waited a bit longer............

 

[crabjoe]

Thanks for the info folks..

Since it's gotten so cold out, I put the wine outside to see if it develops any crystals.

Outside of that I'm not sure what else I might need to do before bottling. About the only thing I can think of is to back sweeten it to a sg of 1.000, since I don't like super dry wine. I don't have the equipment to test for anything else. Should I maybe oak it a bit?

 

[bshef]

Is it Chardonnay? That would be the only white you should attempt to oak. I would't try it with a kit or juice bucket. If you back sweeten, let it stabilize a couple weeks to be sure fermentation doesn't restart.

 

[crabjoe]

Is it Chardonnay? That would be the only white you should attempt to oak. I would't try it with a kit or juice bucket. If you back sweeten, let it stabilize a couple weeks to be sure fermentation doesn't restart.

Its pinot grigio...

I knew chardonnay was soaked, but I was wondering if maybe other whites might get some benefit from a light oaking. Apparently not.

As for back sweetening, I'm not sure if I should. If I do, I won't take it sweeter than an sg of 1.000