Can I drink it from the carboy?

thaddy1978 · Oct 4, 2014

Can I keep the wine in the Carboy that finished fermenting and drink out of it as I please or will it turn to vinegar? I just know all of these sites say to leave the jug full or that can happen. I have racked it and the lees have become far less. Now what? Can my sweet wine sit in room temps without going bad once opened?

vernsgal · Oct 4, 2014

Lol.it would depend on the size of carboy and how fast you plan on consuming

cpfan · Oct 4, 2014

thaddy1978 said:
Can I keep the wine in the Carboy that finished fermenting and drink out of it as I please or will it turn to vinegar? I just know all of these sites say to leave the jug full or that can happen. I have racked it and the lees have become far less. Now what? Can my sweet wine sit in room temps without going bad once opened?

It won't necessarily turn to vinegar, but it will oxidize. As vernsgal says it depends on the size of the carboy. One gallon, and you might drink it all before the oxidation become noticeable. 5-6 gallons and the oxidation will probably be noticeable before you have consumed it all (of course if you're have a couple of 'carboy tapping parties' this weekend, maybe not).

The rate of oxidation depends on a couple of factors...1) amount of air (oxygen) exposure, and 2) amount of K-meta added (or actually amount of SO2 in the wine).

Steve

thaddy1978 · Oct 4, 2014

Sorry, its a one gallon. I would put it in something else smaller, but I don't have anything yet. Is it okay to refrigerate? I much prefer it chilled. And would reffrigerating it help prolong its stability and stunt its oxidation?

sour_grapes · Oct 4, 2014

Yes, refrigeration will slow down the rate of oxidation.

Arne · Oct 4, 2014

Sure, stick it in the reefer. I think they are better cold also, most of the time. You can break it up into wine bottles if you like. If you want to look like a shiner, you can put it in mason jars. Shouldn't have thrown away all those empty wine bottles, huh? Anyway, if you drink it within a short period of time, it should be fine. You will find if you age it for a while, it will probably get better, usually much better. But, I know from experience it is hard to wait on it. If you get more made up it gets easier to leave it alone to age a bit. Good luck with it, Arne.