White wine from grapes, when do you bottle?

[NorCal]

I've made white wine from grapes the last 4 years; Chard, Chard, Viognier and this year's 24 gallons of Chenin Blanc. I've typically bottled in Feb, but I'm trying to find a reason not to do it Jan as I could use the containers.

The Chenin is non-mlf, no oak, cold crashed pretty solid this year. It tastes nice, has been racked a few times and no fallout noted since the last racking a few weeks ago. I will transfer to carboys an bring them in the house to degass a bit and run them through a 1 micron filter the day before bottling.

I know every wine is different, but when do you usually bottle your whites from grapes?

 

[salcoco]

Any time after clearing about three months

 

[Johnd]

I usually shoot for the 6 month mark, Spring seems to be the perfect time to bottle whites and be safe from unexpected bottle fallout.

 

[Donz]

What type of yeast did you use for Chenin Blanc?

 

[user 36973]

I prefer to work my whites to bottle ASAP, assuming no intentional aging for a particular reason. I get them tweaked, stabilized, filtered and bottled. I feel it preserves the fruitiness better as well as getting my tank back to me.

Fastest I've gone from grape to bottle was about 3 weeks. Yippie ki yah!

 

[Godfather]

What type of yeast did you use for Chenin Blanc?

 

[NorCal]

If you put the "@" sign before someone's name, they will get a notification that someone asked a question.

@Donz and @Godfather I used Rhone 4600 yeast.

Complex aromatic notes and elevated ester production such as tropical (pineapple) and fresh fruit (apple, pear, strawberry) make this strain an ideal choice for rosé wines and Rhône whites.

 

[balatonwine]

I usually bulk age my white wines and normally don't bottle till spring. For one thing, it is more fun than trying to clean bottles in freezing temps in Winter.....

One can certainly bottle sooner for many white wines (Pinot gris is one common early bottle wine that I grow), but one will probably get a different final wine when poured than if one bulk aged.

In the end... what kind of wine do you want Interesting... eh? Wine making is fun. So many variables.

 

[mainshipfred]

This past fall from fresh Virginia grapes I made a Viognier and Petit Manseng. Both are sharing time in a new 25 liter barrel I neutralized for 2 months prior to use. The barrel is not giving off much oak but the time in the barrel is doing wonders for the wine. As much as I want to bottle both of them (primarily for floor space) I can't bring myself around to doing it. I think I'll shoot for 3-4 months each which will put me until the end of May and then perhaps put the peach in it until fall harvest. Although I may show signs of weakness if they keep on improving the way they currently are.

 

[nynethead]

i generally wait 6 months, sometimes as long as 8. It's a time thing

 

[countygrapeguy]

I was wondering the same thing. I'm making Chard for the first time.

 

[NorCal]

It’s been 3 months since end of fermentation. I racked 3 weeks ago after semi-cold stabilizing (mid 30’s in the garage for a week),where it dropped significant tartrates. The wine is clear but still pretty full of CO2. I think I’ll bring a carboy in the house, get the wine in the 70’s and do some vacuum degassing. At that point, I’ll see if I think it’s a candidate for filtering/bottling.

 

[balatonwine]

do some vacuum degassing.

I do it the old way. Wait. The wine will degas itself. Over time. But that creates a different wine. Each to their own.