Mosti Mondiale MM Master's Granbarolo ---Progress

[trashy]

I guess this is as good a place as any to add this bit of info from Winestock.

Matteo of Mosti Mondiale was asked about bulk aging. To paraphrase he seemed to think that the potential issues that could arise while bulk aging outweighed the potential benefits. He made a good case. Perhaps someone that was taking notes can elaborate on it.

 

[Wayne1]

I recall Matteo was saying that, in bulk aging, one must pay careful attention to the free sulfite level in the carboy - which seemed complicated. Also - I think he was saying that a bung in a carboy will have some oxygen leakage while the wine is safer in a corked bottle. As Trashy says- he said he thought that all things considered - it was better to bottle the wine and not have to worry about these potential dangers. I think he also said that to get any benefit from bulk aging, that you had to leave a little sediment and stirr it up every so often (someone can correct me if that was not what he said). What I took away from it was that I think I need to go ahead and bottle some of the carboys I have been bulk aging in.

 

[vcasey]

And once you get those carboys aging just think of all the wine you can make!
VPC

 

[Bert]

I also can away from the winestock meeting with the ideathat bulk aging of wines may create more problems than benefits.....And I have been a big believer in bulk aging....

 

[unaFORDable]

I have an Amarone bulk aging that I've added Tan'Cor to. The main reason I'm bulk aging is to give the Tan'Cor time to do it's thing. And 2nd is to keep me from sampling the wine and drinking it up. I was planning on bottling around Dec 09.
Question..... from what I'm reading here, should I plan on stirring it up about every 3 months??? And should I rethink when to bottle, maybe bottle in Sept??? Or should it be sooner???

 

[Bert]

One of the concerns is the level of free SO2 to protect the wine while bulk ageing.....If this were my wine , I would wait the 6 to 8 weeks needed for the Tan'Cor to do it's thing and than do a PH check and test for free SO2....And decide from there to bottle or not.....

 

[admiral]

I have been reading all the comments re. bulk aging. It seems that a large number of folks on this forum bulk age and recommend that practice to new wine makers. I have read the pros and the cons (I think) and I am unsure as to what I should do. Is the process of bulk aging a subject of personal taste similar to back sweetening or oaking? Or is there a body of knowledge (and/or data)that supports or opposesthis practice?

 

[Tom]

Look at it this way.

ALL wineries BULK AGE. Some wineries will bulk age well over a year. If bulk aging don't work then why do all wineries through out the world bulk age.

I bulk age from 6 months to a year

 

[vcasey]

I bulk age as well. Many of the kits with grape packs drop sediment for a while and I am glad it gets left behind in the carboy after a year of bulk aging then in the bottle. Also for me its easier to store one large bottle (the carboy) then 30 or so bottles of wine and its easier to keep my husband from giving it away before its ready if its not in the bottle.
VPC

 

[trashy]

Look at it this way.
ALL wineries BULK AGE. Some wineries will bulk age well over
a year. If bulk aging don't work then why do all wineries through out
the world bulk age.
I bulk age from 6 months to a year

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Wineries also have real grapes, full-time staff and millions of dollars
of equipment. I think the point is that the average home winemaker
risks significant problems for minimal gain. So bulk age at your own
risk. I know I've been doing it, but I plan on minimizing the bulk
part in the future.



I know I won't have any problems with drinking things too early.
That's how I ended up with over 130 bottles sitting in my house, in
spite of regular drinking and lots of giveaways!

 

[Tom]

Thats the great part on home winemaking. There are any number different ways to make wine and still have it come out ok. Bulk aging is a personal thing. I do almost 100% fresh juice and fruit. The juiceI age for anywhere from 6 months for whites to a year for reds. I get California, Italian and Chilean juice.

Kit wines (some) dont benifit as much in aging that long. For this reason some dont age.

Sanitation is a very important part of wine making. Without it you can get contamination and get bad wine.

 

[zehnmm]

Look at it this way. ALL wineries BULK AGE. Some wineries will bulk age well over a year. If bulk aging don't work then why do all wineries through out the world bulk age. I bulk age from 6 months to a year

Wineries also have real grapes, full-time staff and millions of dollars of equipment. I think the point is that the average home winemaker risks significant problems for minimal gain. So bulk age at your own risk. I know I've been doing it, but I plan on minimizing the bulk part in the future.

I know I won't have any problems with drinking things too early. That's how I ended up with over 130 bottles sitting in my house, in spite of regular drinking and lots of giveaways!

As the one who put in the the original post, all I wanted to do was sing the praises of the MM Master's Barolo! LOL!


This thread has also transmogrified into a discussion of the Chevy vs. Ford bulk aging vs. bottling issue. As for me, I tend to agree with trashy, in that I will do some bulk aging, but again, as I stated earlier in the thread, intend to limit it toabout 2 months.


As for wineries bulk aging, well. ,,, of course they do. But most of the time, the so-called bulk aging is in barrels. IMHO, this is quite a bit different than dumb old me bulk aging a wine kitin a 6 gal. glass carboy with a bung and airlock. If I had the time, money, space, equipment, vineyard, and the will to do so,I wouldply my craft with grapes of my own --- aging in French oak barrels. But, alas, that is not the case now. Sigh.


Tepe, along with some others, stated that all this really boils down to what the individual prefers to do. I sure do respect that and, importantly, appreciate his and other's input on this.


One last question back on my original post: For those of you who have tried the MM Master's Granbarolo, what do you think?



Regards.