WineXpert Bottle or Carboy Ageing?

[winesleeper]

My Island Mist kit has cleared and is ready for bottling per the instructions. My problem is, if bottled, I start drinking it after a month. I would like to rack it to a cleaned and sanitized carboy and let it age for 3 months. Is there any special requirements or can I just rack it and hide it in the basement? Also, I did add 4 lbs of sugar at the beginning to up the ABV.

 

[RCGoodin]

Here are instructions from a kit I am making. I have seen others posting this message also.

I hope it helps.

 

[robie]

You can leave the wine in a carboy under an air lock. (I seldom bottle within a year of clearing.)

After 3 months, even though you might not be able to see it, there WILL BE sediment in the bottom of the carboy. When you get ready to bottle, add 1/4 tsp of k-meta, making sure it is stirred in very well. Rack the wine to a clean container and bottle.

 

[Rocky]

I do it slightly differently. I always bulk age my wines (6 months for whites and 12 months for reds). As Robie points out, there will still be a very fine sediment in the carboys after these periods. I triturate 1/4 teaspoon of k-meta using a mortar and pestle and dump the powder into a clean carboy. I then rack the wine into that carboy. By the time the carboy is filled, the powder is dissolved and I give it a good stir to distribute evenly the k-meta, let is sit for a day or so and then bottle.

 

[wineforfun]

I thought you were supposed to rack it every 3-4 months, and add K-Meta each racking, when aging for say 12 months or so?
Are you saying you can let it age for 12 months with no racking along the way?

 

[winesleeper]

So is this correct? K-meta is potassium metabisulphite, and campden tablets are available with sodium metabisulphite or potassium metabisulphite. When I was stabilizing my wine kit, I added a package of potassium metabisulphite. So it was ready then for bottling or carboy ageing. But, if I want to age my wine in a carboy for 3 mo., 6 mo., or even 12 mo. I will need to add a ¼ tsp of potassium metabisulphite just before bottling.

 

[DoctorCAD]

Island Mist kits do not really benefit from ageing.

They are made to chug right out of the carboy! (Not really, but they do drink early)

 

[midnightsolace]

So is this correct? K-meta is potassium metabisulphite, and campden tablets are available with sodium metabisulphite or potassium metabisulphite. When I was stabilizing my wine kit, I added a package of potassium metabisulphite. So it was ready then for bottling or carboy ageing. But, if I want to age my wine in a carboy for 3 mo., 6 mo., or even 12 mo. I will need to add a ¼ tsp of potassium metabisulphite just before bottling.

Well... if you're talking about when you added k-meta for stabilizing purposes, it's generally not ready to bottle at that time. Initial stabilizing is different than adding k-meta for upkeep purposes. That initial dose of k-meta after the fermentation has ended is to START the stabilization of the wine. After that, you still want to let it clarify before bottling. The longer you clarify and bulk age after that, the better (at least, within reason and for most wines).

If you intend to bulk age, or if you're racking to clear the wine, the reason why you're adding k-meta at those times is because it helps reduce the oxidation effect of racking the wine, plus it continues to keep stuff from growing in your wine (yeasts, bacteria, etc). But k-meta doesn't stay in the wine permanently. Its benefits (i.e., releasing sulfur dioxide) fade over time, which is why it's common to add another 1/4 tsp each time you rack (provided you are racking a few months apart). However, it's not uncommon to add this little bit to the batch just before bottling for the same purposes. But that's not the same time of adding k-meta as the time you add it right after fermentation is over. Hope that makes sense. Words are betraying me today, and they don't seem to want to come out of my head the way I mean them.

Anyway, this is my understanding of the process. =)

 

[USA_WineMaker]

My Island Mist kit has cleared and is ready for bottling per the instructions. My problem is, if bottled, I start drinking it after a month. I would like to rack it to a cleaned and sanitized carboy and let it age for 3 months. Is there any special requirements or can I just rack it and hide it in the basement? Also, I did add 4 lbs of sugar at the beginning to up the ABV.

And, why is this a problem? These kits don't really benefit from ageing. It's not like a Cab or Barolo. OK, I have an idea. If you're concerned about drinking them early then just sent to me and I'll keep them safe for you.

 

[GaDawg]

"I don't recommend much long-term bulk ageing beyond this point: once a wine is fully completed fermentation, clarifying, and most of the early ageing processes, the best place to put it for long-term storage is in a bottle, under a good cork. The interface seal between the neck of a carboy and the bung is actually really leaky: the oxygen transfer rate is hundreds of times higher than that of a cork. If you want your wine to age gracefully and appropriately, a bottle is the best place for it." Tim Vandergrift

 

[bkisel]

"I don't recommend much long-term bulk ageing beyond this point: once a wine is fully completed fermentation, clarifying, and most of the early ageing processes, the best place to put it for long-term storage is in a bottle, under a good cork. The interface seal between the neck of a carboy and the bung is actually really leaky: the oxygen transfer rate is hundreds of times higher than that of a cork. If you want your wine to age gracefully and appropriately, a bottle is the best place for it." Tim Vandergrift

Yeah, but then you'd have these empty carboys laying around for months on end.