Keepining the secondary in the dark ?

[arcticsid]

Is it necessary, or recommended to keep your wine under cover while it ages in the secondarry, whether it's for 5 weeks or 5 months?
Troy

 

[Tom]

yes keep it away from the sunlight
I have fleese carboy covers made to slip over the carboys.
Where are you aging them? in a closet, basement,...

 

[Sacalait]

I drape a "T" shirt over mine.

 

[Malkore]

I"m another t-shirt user. Men's size medium fits pretty well over a standard carboy.

UV light can 'skunk' beer and wine, at least red wine.

fluorescent bulbs do put out UV light, but its not a concern unless its constant (i.e. why Heinekin is skunky..green bottles don't block light well)

 

[Manimal]

Five weeks... I wouldn't be worried about it unless it was in direct sunlight. Five months... I'd keep it somewhere pretty dark. I keep my carboys in my unfinished basement which just has small windows that don't let in much light. As an extra precaution, I cover the window right next to the workbench where my carboys sit with heavy cardboard. An added benefit is that it blocks my wine from view by any snooping neighbours who (in my shady neighbourhood) might break in and drink my hooch!!

 

[Luc]

A lot of carboys are green. That is for preventing sunlight coming in. Just like wine bottles.
Sunlight can trigger some chemical reactions that can effect the wine.

I put mine in plastic garbage bags.

Luc

 

[smurfe]

Cover mine with old t shirts to.

 

[B-well4200]

I wrap towels around mine... and I LOVE Heinekin!

 

[Madriver Wines]

I wrap mine in old towels that are dark blue.

 

[WildSeedGrrrl]

I put the one gallon jugs in cupboards and I cover the 3 gallons with the shipping boxes they came in and I wrap the 6.5 gallons in a blanket or a t-shirt.