Bulk ageing & racking

[WineYooper]

Have 5 gals. of cranberry bulk ageing since April. This was started on March 13th, racked from secondary 6/15 and again 8/14. At the last racking I added 1/4 tsp of kmeta. The wine is very clear and it looks like very little sediment on the bottom. The question is should I rack due to the time or just add some more kmeta in another month? I plan on letting this age till next February. I have some blackberry in pretty much the same situation except it's younger, started in June. This was racked in July and then Nov. In the back of my pee brain I am wondering if I'm gaining anything by racking. I typically rack about every 3 months after the first two rackings.

 

[Wade E]

Do you mean this February? Fruit wines can last awhile but I wouldnt push it that long. Red grape wines I let bulk age about a year and fruits around 8 months and they usually are tasting good around then while the red grapes still need a little more time. If thereb is just a little dusting then there is no need to rack off now and you can just dissolve some meta in water and gently mix it in so as not to distrub the sediment.

 

[WineYooper]

Yes, I did mean next month. Sorry. Lost track of time and forgot that's next month. Yoo hoo!!!!! My last fruits I went for 11 months since I thought that was better for the ageing process. For what I'm not seeing on the bottom then I could probably bottle now. Should I add another dose of kmeta first or would I be fine from the last?

 

[WineYooper]

Thought of another question. What do you think the shelf life could be for a fruit wine if stored at 55F in a dark corner in the basement? I was hoping that I might be able to have some of my fruit wine for about two years.

 

[FTC Wines]

I store my apple wine in basement, 58* winter 66* in summer, I find taste good at 1 yr. & awesome at 2 yr. Have some going on 3 yr. will taste soon. Roy

 

[wvbrewer]

Wish I had a basement for my fruit wine. I am sure yours will be great.