I live in the UK and current recommendation from the home winemaking
stores in the middle of England (including some commercial wineries I
know) is to ferment then use finings and bottle as soon after that as
possible. To back that up, glass carboys are fairly scarce compared
to plastic carboys and buckets. When I have asked why that is I have
been asked why I would want the wine to stay in glass to age rather
than in the bottle and told it is unnecessary and not 'particularly'
beneficial.

Now I tend to poo-poo this and go with the advice of this group, the
rest of the world (and CJJ Berry's sage old advice) to at least settle
the wine out naturally (if at all possible) before bottling and
maturing therein. I haven't enough personal experience to back this
up, it just seems logical to avoid fining unless absolutely necessary.

I know the UK isn't widely considered to be a world-class winemaking
region (though I gather we have, at least once, come first in a world
winemaking category). I can't help wondering:

# Why is the advice given here so different to that which (I gather)
is given everywhere else in the world?

# Why would people in the UK be fixating on a fast and less crafted
winemaking experience if that is the case? Perhaps the market for
home winemaking is declining here and new winemakers are only
attracted to make their own if it is very quick and easy?

# How much difference is there in the end product?

# Has anyone done side by side tests to determine the difference in
result between wines which have been fermented, fined and bottle aged
vs wines which have been gravity cleared, bulk aged and then bottled?

I would be interested to hear considered opinion or fact on this...
Best wishes to all of you at this most productive time of year!

Jim

I'll assume you're referring to red wines - as 'aging' per se is not
so much an issue with whites.

I can;t speak to kits, but for the wines I make from grape, I strongly
prefer bulk aging in oak, stainless, or glass carboys. This gives the
wine time to clear (if I can avoid fining reds, I will) and gives the
wine time to mature with less oxygen on the wine. It also allows for
any residual mlf to occur.

--
I'm using an evaluation license of nemo since 98 days.
You should really try it!
http://www.malcom-mac.com/nemo

I can only reply about kit wines, not raw recipes. I tried bulk aging
and the wine oxidized, and WinExperts reply to my problem - they don't
recommend bulk aging of their kits. so I don't anymore.

I also know there has been discussion about plastic versus glass (google
this site) and no conclusion I found satisfactory, so I use both.

I do have a Cherry port and a Blueberry port from recipes, that I plan
on bulk aging in 3 gallon glass carboys - I'll learn from that
experience, but it will take a year before I know. smile.

DAve

jim wrote:
> I live in the UK and current recommendation from the home winemaking
> stores in the middle of England (including some commercial wineries I
> know) is to ferment then use finings and bottle as soon after that as
> possible. To back that up, glass carboys are fairly scarce compared
> to plastic carboys and buckets. When I have asked why that is I have
> been asked why I would want the wine to stay in glass to age rather
> than in the bottle and told it is unnecessary and not 'particularly'
> beneficial.
>
> Now I tend to poo-poo this and go with the advice of this group, the
> rest of the world (and CJJ Berry's sage old advice) to at least settle
> the wine out naturally (if at all possible) before bottling and
> maturing therein. I haven't enough personal experience to back this
> up, it just seems logical to avoid fining unless absolutely necessary.
>
> I know the UK isn't widely considered to be a world-class winemaking
> region (though I gather we have, at least once, come first in a world
> winemaking category). I can't help wondering:
>
> # Why is the advice given here so different to that which (I gather)
> is given everywhere else in the world?
>
> # Why would people in the UK be fixating on a fast and less crafted
> winemaking experience if that is the case? Perhaps the market for
> home winemaking is declining here and new winemakers are only
> attracted to make their own if it is very quick and easy?
>
> # How much difference is there in the end product?
>
> # Has anyone done side by side tests to determine the difference in
> result between wines which have been fermented, fined and bottle aged
> vs wines which have been gravity cleared, bulk aged and then bottled?
>
> I would be interested to hear considered opinion or fact on this...
> Best wishes to all of you at this most productive time of year!
>
> Jim
>

Thanks for the replies guys...

Me too Dave, though you have the jump on me...

I am trusting in plastic - though I have about 30 1 gallon dj and 1 5
gallon dj I am working with, most of my larger
scale is plastic - better bottle - so far untested as is still in
aging/clearing stage...

Jim

n Sep 1, 1:45 am, Dave Allison > wrote:
> I can only reply about kit wines, not raw recipes. I tried bulk aging
> and the wine oxidized, and WinExperts reply to my problem - they don't
> recommend bulk aging of their kits. so I don't anymore.
>
> I also know there has been discussion about plastic versus glass (google
> this site) and no conclusion I found satisfactory, so I use both.
>
> I do have a Cherry port and a Blueberry port from recipes, that I plan
> on bulk aging in 3 gallon glass carboys - I'll learn from that
> experience, but it will take a year before I know. smile.
>
> DAve
>
> jim wrote:
> > I live in the UK and current recommendation from the home winemaking
> > stores in the middle of England (including some commercial wineries I
> > know) is to ferment then use finings and bottle as soon after that as
> > possible. To back that up, glass carboys are fairly scarce compared
> > to plastic carboys and buckets. When I have asked why that is I have
> > been asked why I would want the wine to stay in glass to age rather
> > than in the bottle and told it is unnecessary and not 'particularly'
> > beneficial.
>
> > Now I tend to poo-poo this and go with the advice of this group, the
> > rest of the world (and CJJ Berry's sage old advice) to at least settle
> > the wine out naturally (if at all possible) before bottling and
> > maturing therein. I haven't enough personal experience to back this
> > up, it just seems logical to avoid fining unless absolutely necessary.
>
> > I know the UK isn't widely considered to be a world-class winemaking
> > region (though I gather we have, at least once, come first in a world
> > winemaking category). I can't help wondering:
>
> > # Why is the advice given here so different to that which (I gather)
> > is given everywhere else in the world?
>
> > # Why would people in the UK be fixating on a fast and less crafted
> > winemaking experience if that is the case? Perhaps the market for
> > home winemaking is declining here and new winemakers are only
> > attracted to make their own if it is very quick and easy?
>
> > # How much difference is there in the end product?
>
> > # Has anyone done side by side tests to determine the difference in
> > result between wines which have been fermented, fined and bottle aged
> > vs wines which have been gravity cleared, bulk aged and then bottled?
>
> > I would be interested to hear considered opinion or fact on this...
> > Best wishes to all of you at this most productive time of year!
>
> > Jim

FWIW, you can find your answers by Googling the archives, but since I have
10 minutes, here goes...

Ageing in plastic cannot be recommended above ageing in glass due to the
density differences between the two. Basically, glass breaks easily because
it is a very dense structure whereas plastic less readily because it is a
less dense structure. Thus, glass is less impervious to infiltration as
compared to plastics. Many people can find many flaws in my allusion, but it
does break it down to straight-forward terms.

I also imagine you speak of wine kits, which is the first batch of wine I
made. What I found particularly disconcerting was the use of potassium
sorbate to inhibit the yeast. I found this ingredient readily identifiable
in my kit wine and wished I hadn't used it. When I thought all those
Christmas gifts had been dumped due to poor quality, my father produced his
bottle some 2+ years later and I must say it was a very nice kit wine. The
pot. sorbate was gone and it was a decent kit Cab. Sauv.I've since
recommended that my friends starting on kits skip the pot. sorbate and bulk
age for a period up to 6 months, believing that a juice would stabilize much
more readily than the relatively protein-saturated goo of fresh grapes.

In my opinion, the above paragraph throws doubt to the kit maker's claim (in
the US) that kit wines be drunk within 1 year. Read carefully the
instructions and total time to drinking in kits versus fresh grapes or juice
and notice the disparity. Think anyone writing the instructions has a
commercial interest in mind?

Age in bulk - there is less O2 exposure per given volume of wine versus that
in a bottle, assuming that corks "breathe". Let's PLEASE not have that
debate again, for the 187th time!



Patrick


"jim" > wrote in message
ups.com...
>I live in the UK and current recommendation from the home winemaking
> stores in the middle of England (including some commercial wineries I
> know) is to ferment then use finings and bottle as soon after that as
> possible. To back that up, glass carboys are fairly scarce compared
> to plastic carboys and buckets. When I have asked why that is I have
> been asked why I would want the wine to stay in glass to age rather
> than in the bottle and told it is unnecessary and not 'particularly'
> beneficial.
>
> Now I tend to poo-poo this and go with the advice of this group, the
> rest of the world (and CJJ Berry's sage old advice) to at least settle
> the wine out naturally (if at all possible) before bottling and
> maturing therein. I haven't enough personal experience to back this
> up, it just seems logical to avoid fining unless absolutely necessary.
>
> I know the UK isn't widely considered to be a world-class winemaking
> region (though I gather we have, at least once, come first in a world
> winemaking category). I can't help wondering:
>
> # Why is the advice given here so different to that which (I gather)
> is given everywhere else in the world?
>
> # Why would people in the UK be fixating on a fast and less crafted
> winemaking experience if that is the case? Perhaps the market for
> home winemaking is declining here and new winemakers are only
> attracted to make their own if it is very quick and easy?
>
> # How much difference is there in the end product?
>
> # Has anyone done side by side tests to determine the difference in
> result between wines which have been fermented, fined and bottle aged
> vs wines which have been gravity cleared, bulk aged and then bottled?
>
> I would be interested to hear considered opinion or fact on this...
> Best wishes to all of you at this most productive time of year!
>
> Jim
>

Hi Patrick, thanks for replying. I am satisfied the glass vs plastic
argument has been done to death. What I am talking about is the
seemingly huge disparity between what home winemakers (creating fruit
wines) are told to do by wineshops in the UK and elsewhere.

Shop owners here tell me not to bother with bulk aging but to let the
wine age and mature in bottle - avoid letting it settle out naturally,
but use finings to overcome the problems 'inherent' in plastic
containers by removing the need for longterm storage therein. This
doesn't have a financial root to me since the wines being made are not
from commercial kits, but from scratch.

One shop owner admitted to me that glass carboys were starting to
enjoy a bit of a renaissance in the UK as people followed Canadian
kitmakers instructions and went to secondary in glass rather than
plastic. This situation befuddled him as he couldn't see any reason
to go that route... My real question is why would this be I guess...

Jim

On Sep 1, 4:58 am, "patrick mcdonald"
> wrote:
> FWIW, you can find your answers by Googling the archives, but since I have
> 10 minutes, here goes...
>
> Ageing in plastic cannot be recommended above ageing in glass due to the
> density differences between the two. Basically, glass breaks easily because
> it is a very dense structure whereas plastic less readily because it is a
> less dense structure. Thus, glass is less impervious to infiltration as
> compared to plastics. Many people can find many flaws in my allusion, but it
> does break it down to straight-forward terms.
>
> I also imagine you speak of wine kits, which is the first batch of wine I
> made. What I found particularly disconcerting was the use of potassium
> sorbate to inhibit the yeast. I found this ingredient readily identifiable
> in my kit wine and wished I hadn't used it. When I thought all those
> Christmas gifts had been dumped due to poor quality, my father produced his
> bottle some 2+ years later and I must say it was a very nice kit wine. The
> pot. sorbate was gone and it was a decent kit Cab. Sauv.I've since
> recommended that my friends starting on kits skip the pot. sorbate and bulk
> age for a period up to 6 months, believing that a juice would stabilize much
> more readily than the relatively protein-saturated goo of fresh grapes.
>
> In my opinion, the above paragraph throws doubt to the kit maker's claim (in
> the US) that kit wines be drunk within 1 year. Read carefully the
> instructions and total time to drinking in kits versus fresh grapes or juice
> and notice the disparity. Think anyone writing the instructions has a
> commercial interest in mind?
>
> Age in bulk - there is less O2 exposure per given volume of wine versus that
> in a bottle, assuming that corks "breathe". Let's PLEASE not have that
> debate again, for the 187th time!
>
> Patrick
>
> "jim" > wrote in message
>
> ups.com...
>
> >I live in the UK and current recommendation from the home winemaking
> > stores in the middle of England (including some commercial wineries I
> > know) is to ferment then use finings and bottle as soon after that as
> > possible. To back that up, glass carboys are fairly scarce compared
> > to plastic carboys and buckets. When I have asked why that is I have
> > been asked why I would want the wine to stay in glass to age rather
> > than in the bottle and told it is unnecessary and not 'particularly'
> > beneficial.
>
> > Now I tend to poo-poo this and go with the advice of this group, the
> > rest of the world (and CJJ Berry's sage old advice) to at least settle
> > the wine out naturally (if at all possible) before bottling and
> > maturing therein. I haven't enough personal experience to back this
> > up, it just seems logical to avoid fining unless absolutely necessary.
>
> > I know the UK isn't widely considered to be a world-class winemaking
> > region (though I gather we have, at least once, come first in a world
> > winemaking category). I can't help wondering:
>
> > # Why is the advice given here so different to that which (I gather)
> > is given everywhere else in the world?
>
> > # Why would people in the UK be fixating on a fast and less crafted
> > winemaking experience if that is the case? Perhaps the market for
> > home winemaking is declining here and new winemakers are only
> > attracted to make their own if it is very quick and easy?
>
> > # How much difference is there in the end product?
>
> > # Has anyone done side by side tests to determine the difference in
> > result between wines which have been fermented, fined and bottle aged
> > vs wines which have been gravity cleared, bulk aged and then bottled?
>
> > I would be interested to hear considered opinion or fact on this...
> > Best wishes to all of you at this most productive time of year!
>
> > Jim

On Sep 1, 5:03 am, jim > wrote:
> Hi Patrick, thanks for replying. I am satisfied the glass vs plastic
> argument has been done to death. What I am talking about is the
> seemingly huge disparity between what home winemakers (creating fruit
> wines) are told to do by wineshops in the UK and elsewhere.
>
> Shop owners here tell me not to bother with bulk aging but to let the
> wine age and mature in bottle - avoid letting it settle out naturally,
> but use finings to overcome the problems 'inherent' in plastic
> containers by removing the need for longterm storage therein. This
> doesn't have a financial root to me since the wines being made are not
> from commercial kits, but from scratch.
>
> One shop owner admitted to me that glass carboys were starting to
> enjoy a bit of a renaissance in the UK as people followed Canadian
> kitmakers instructions and went to secondary in glass rather than
> plastic. This situation befuddled him as he couldn't see any reason
> to go that route... My real question is why would this be I guess...
>
> Jim
>
> On Sep 1, 4:58 am, "patrick mcdonald"
>
> > wrote:
> > FWIW, you can find your answers by Googling the archives, but since I have
> > 10 minutes, here goes...
>
> > Ageing in plastic cannot be recommended above ageing in glass due to the
> > density differences between the two. Basically, glass breaks easily because
> > it is a very dense structure whereas plastic less readily because it is a
> > less dense structure. Thus, glass is less impervious to infiltration as
> > compared to plastics. Many people can find many flaws in my allusion, but it
> > does break it down to straight-forward terms.
>
> > I also imagine you speak of wine kits, which is the first batch of wine I
> > made. What I found particularly disconcerting was the use of potassium
> > sorbate to inhibit the yeast. I found this ingredient readily identifiable
> > in my kit wine and wished I hadn't used it. When I thought all those
> > Christmas gifts had been dumped due to poor quality, my father produced his
> > bottle some 2+ years later and I must say it was a very nice kit wine. The
> > pot. sorbate was gone and it was a decent kit Cab. Sauv.I've since
> > recommended that my friends starting on kits skip the pot. sorbate and bulk
> > age for a period up to 6 months, believing that a juice would stabilize much
> > more readily than the relatively protein-saturated goo of fresh grapes.
>
> > In my opinion, the above paragraph throws doubt to the kit maker's claim (in
> > the US) that kit wines be drunk within 1 year. Read carefully the
> > instructions and total time to drinking in kits versus fresh grapes or juice
> > and notice the disparity. Think anyone writing the instructions has a
> > commercial interest in mind?
>
> > Age in bulk - there is less O2 exposure per given volume of wine versus that
> > in a bottle, assuming that corks "breathe". Let's PLEASE not have that
> > debate again, for the 187th time!
>
> > Patrick
>
> > "jim" > wrote in message
>
> oups.com...
>
> > >I live in the UK and current recommendation from the home winemaking
> > > stores in the middle of England (including some commercial wineries I
> > > know) is to ferment then use finings and bottle as soon after that as
> > > possible. To back that up, glass carboys are fairly scarce compared
> > > to plastic carboys and buckets. When I have asked why that is I have
> > > been asked why I would want the wine to stay in glass to age rather
> > > than in the bottle and told it is unnecessary and not 'particularly'
> > > beneficial.
>
> > > Now I tend to poo-poo this and go with the advice of this group, the
> > > rest of the world (and CJJ Berry's sage old advice) to at least settle
> > > the wine out naturally (if at all possible) before bottling and
> > > maturing therein. I haven't enough personal experience to back this
> > > up, it just seems logical to avoid fining unless absolutely necessary.
>
> > > I know the UK isn't widely considered to be a world-class winemaking
> > > region (though I gather we have, at least once, come first in a world
> > > winemaking category). I can't help wondering:
>
> > > # Why is the advice given here so different to that which (I gather)
> > > is given everywhere else in the world?
>
> > > # Why would people in the UK be fixating on a fast and less crafted
> > > winemaking experience if that is the case? Perhaps the market for
> > > home winemaking is declining here and new winemakers are only
> > > attracted to make their own if it is very quick and easy?
>
> > > # How much difference is there in the end product?
>
> > > # Has anyone done side by side tests to determine the difference in
> > > result between wines which have been fermented, fined and bottle aged
> > > vs wines which have been gravity cleared, bulk aged and then bottled?
>
> > > I would be interested to hear considered opinion or fact on this...
> > > Best wishes to all of you at this most productive time of year!
>
> > > Jim

One aspect in fining , especially with reds is dropping out a little
bit of color , etc. I've made a few kits , and unless it's a kit
that's supposed to finish with an appreciable amount of reidual
sugar , I chuck the sorbate....don't like the taste. Keep looking for
carboys (glass....doesn't breathe ) or demijohns..........they allow
you to bulk age with th only attention being given is checking your
traps every now and again.

Yeah I have over 30 glass demijohns and a combination of glass and
better bottle 5 gallon carboys.

I wonder why they aren't the recommended route in the UK? Thats the
way I am making wine...

Jim

On Sep 1, 1:38 pm, wrote:
> On Sep 1, 5:03 am, jim > wrote:
>
>
>
> > Hi Patrick, thanks for replying. I am satisfied the glass vs plastic
> > argument has been done to death. What I am talking about is the
> > seemingly huge disparity between what home winemakers (creating fruit
> > wines) are told to do by wineshops in the UK and elsewhere.
>
> > Shop owners here tell me not to bother with bulk aging but to let the
> > wine age and mature in bottle - avoid letting it settle out naturally,
> > but use finings to overcome the problems 'inherent' in plastic
> > containers by removing the need for longterm storage therein. This
> > doesn't have a financial root to me since the wines being made are not
> > from commercial kits, but from scratch.
>
> > One shop owner admitted to me that glass carboys were starting to
> > enjoy a bit of a renaissance in the UK as people followed Canadian
> > kitmakers instructions and went to secondary in glass rather than
> > plastic. This situation befuddled him as he couldn't see any reason
> > to go that route... My real question is why would this be I guess...
>
> > Jim
>
> > On Sep 1, 4:58 am, "patrick mcdonald"
>
> > > wrote:
> > > FWIW, you can find your answers by Googling the archives, but since I have
> > > 10 minutes, here goes...
>
> > > Ageing in plastic cannot be recommended above ageing in glass due to the
> > > density differences between the two. Basically, glass breaks easily because
> > > it is a very dense structure whereas plastic less readily because it is a
> > > less dense structure. Thus, glass is less impervious to infiltration as
> > > compared to plastics. Many people can find many flaws in my allusion, but it
> > > does break it down to straight-forward terms.
>
> > > I also imagine you speak of wine kits, which is the first batch of wine I
> > > made. What I found particularly disconcerting was the use of potassium
> > > sorbate to inhibit the yeast. I found this ingredient readily identifiable
> > > in my kit wine and wished I hadn't used it. When I thought all those
> > > Christmas gifts had been dumped due to poor quality, my father produced his
> > > bottle some 2+ years later and I must say it was a very nice kit wine. The
> > > pot. sorbate was gone and it was a decent kit Cab. Sauv.I've since
> > > recommended that my friends starting on kits skip the pot. sorbate and bulk
> > > age for a period up to 6 months, believing that a juice would stabilize much
> > > more readily than the relatively protein-saturated goo of fresh grapes.
>
> > > In my opinion, the above paragraph throws doubt to the kit maker's claim (in
> > > the US) that kit wines be drunk within 1 year. Read carefully the
> > > instructions and total time to drinking in kits versus fresh grapes or juice
> > > and notice the disparity. Think anyone writing the instructions has a
> > > commercial interest in mind?
>
> > > Age in bulk - there is less O2 exposure per given volume of wine versus that
> > > in a bottle, assuming that corks "breathe". Let's PLEASE not have that
> > > debate again, for the 187th time!
>
> > > Patrick
>
> > > "jim" > wrote in message
>
> > oups.com...
>
> > > >I live in the UK and current recommendation from the home winemaking
> > > > stores in the middle of England (including some commercial wineries I
> > > > know) is to ferment then use finings and bottle as soon after that as
> > > > possible. To back that up, glass carboys are fairly scarce compared
> > > > to plastic carboys and buckets. When I have asked why that is I have
> > > > been asked why I would want the wine to stay in glass to age rather
> > > > than in the bottle and told it is unnecessary and not 'particularly'
> > > > beneficial.
>
> > > > Now I tend to poo-poo this and go with the advice of this group, the
> > > > rest of the world (and CJJ Berry's sage old advice) to at least settle
> > > > the wine out naturally (if at all possible) before bottling and
> > > > maturing therein. I haven't enough personal experience to back this
> > > > up, it just seems logical to avoid fining unless absolutely necessary.
>
> > > > I know the UK isn't widely considered to be a world-class winemaking
> > > > region (though I gather we have, at least once, come first in a world
> > > > winemaking category). I can't help wondering:
>
> > > > # Why is the advice given here so different to that which (I gather)
> > > > is given everywhere else in the world?
>
> > > > # Why would people in the UK be fixating on a fast and less crafted
> > > > winemaking experience if that is the case? Perhaps the market for
> > > > home winemaking is declining here and new winemakers are only
> > > > attracted to make their own if it is very quick and easy?
>
> > > > # How much difference is there in the end product?
>
> > > > # Has anyone done side by side tests to determine the difference in
> > > > result between wines which have been fermented, fined and bottle aged
> > > > vs wines which have been gravity cleared, bulk aged and then bottled?
>
> > > > I would be interested to hear considered opinion or fact on this...
> > > > Best wishes to all of you at this most productive time of year!
>
> > > > Jim
>
> One aspect in fining , especially with reds is dropping out a little
> bit of color , etc. I've made a few kits , and unless it's a kit
> that's supposed to finish with an appreciable amount of reidual
> sugar , I chuck the sorbate....don't like the taste. Keep looking for
> carboys (glass....doesn't breathe ) or demijohns..........they allow
> you to bulk age with th only attention being given is checking your
> traps every now and again.

On Sep 1, 10:02 am, jim > wrote:
> Yeah I have over 30 glass demijohns and a combination of glass and
> better bottle 5 gallon carboys.
>
> I wonder why they aren't the recommended route in the UK? Thats the
> way I am making wine...
>
> Jim
>
> On Sep 1, 1:38 pm, wrote:
>
> > On Sep 1, 5:03 am, jim > wrote:
>
> > > Hi Patrick, thanks for replying. I am satisfied the glass vs plastic
> > > argument has been done to death. What I am talking about is the
> > > seemingly huge disparity between what home winemakers (creating fruit
> > > wines) are told to do by wineshops in the UK and elsewhere.
>
> > > Shop owners here tell me not to bother with bulk aging but to let the
> > > wine age and mature in bottle - avoid letting it settle out naturally,
> > > but use finings to overcome the problems 'inherent' in plastic
> > > containers by removing the need for longterm storage therein. This
> > > doesn't have a financial root to me since the wines being made are not
> > > from commercial kits, but from scratch.
>
> > > One shop owner admitted to me that glass carboys were starting to
> > > enjoy a bit of a renaissance in the UK as people followed Canadian
> > > kitmakers instructions and went to secondary in glass rather than
> > > plastic. This situation befuddled him as he couldn't see any reason
> > > to go that route... My real question is why would this be I guess...
>
> > > Jim
>
> > > On Sep 1, 4:58 am, "patrick mcdonald"
>
> > > > wrote:
> > > > FWIW, you can find your answers by Googling the archives, but since I have
> > > > 10 minutes, here goes...
>
> > > > Ageing in plastic cannot be recommended above ageing in glass due to the
> > > > density differences between the two. Basically, glass breaks easily because
> > > > it is a very dense structure whereas plastic less readily because it is a
> > > > less dense structure. Thus, glass is less impervious to infiltration as
> > > > compared to plastics. Many people can find many flaws in my allusion, but it
> > > > does break it down to straight-forward terms.
>
> > > > I also imagine you speak of wine kits, which is the first batch of wine I
> > > > made. What I found particularly disconcerting was the use of potassium
> > > > sorbate to inhibit the yeast. I found this ingredient readily identifiable
> > > > in my kit wine and wished I hadn't used it. When I thought all those
> > > > Christmas gifts had been dumped due to poor quality, my father produced his
> > > > bottle some 2+ years later and I must say it was a very nice kit wine. The
> > > > pot. sorbate was gone and it was a decent kit Cab. Sauv.I've since
> > > > recommended that my friends starting on kits skip the pot. sorbate and bulk
> > > > age for a period up to 6 months, believing that a juice would stabilize much
> > > > more readily than the relatively protein-saturated goo of fresh grapes.
>
> > > > In my opinion, the above paragraph throws doubt to the kit maker's claim (in
> > > > the US) that kit wines be drunk within 1 year. Read carefully the
> > > > instructions and total time to drinking in kits versus fresh grapes or juice
> > > > and notice the disparity. Think anyone writing the instructions has a
> > > > commercial interest in mind?
>
> > > > Age in bulk - there is less O2 exposure per given volume of wine versus that
> > > > in a bottle, assuming that corks "breathe". Let's PLEASE not have that
> > > > debate again, for the 187th time!
>
> > > > Patrick
>
> > > > "jim" > wrote in message
>
> > > oups.com...
>
> > > > >I live in the UK and current recommendation from the home winemaking
> > > > > stores in the middle of England (including some commercial wineries I
> > > > > know) is to ferment then use finings and bottle as soon after that as
> > > > > possible. To back that up, glass carboys are fairly scarce compared
> > > > > to plastic carboys and buckets. When I have asked why that is I have
> > > > > been asked why I would want the wine to stay in glass to age rather
> > > > > than in the bottle and told it is unnecessary and not 'particularly'
> > > > > beneficial.
>
> > > > > Now I tend to poo-poo this and go with the advice of this group, the
> > > > > rest of the world (and CJJ Berry's sage old advice) to at least settle
> > > > > the wine out naturally (if at all possible) before bottling and
> > > > > maturing therein. I haven't enough personal experience to back this
> > > > > up, it just seems logical to avoid fining unless absolutely necessary.
>
> > > > > I know the UK isn't widely considered to be a world-class winemaking
> > > > > region (though I gather we have, at least once, come first in a world
> > > > > winemaking category). I can't help wondering:
>
> > > > > # Why is the advice given here so different to that which (I gather)
> > > > > is given everywhere else in the world?
>
> > > > > # Why would people in the UK be fixating on a fast and less crafted
> > > > > winemaking experience if that is the case? Perhaps the market for
> > > > > home winemaking is declining here and new winemakers are only
> > > > > attracted to make their own if it is very quick and easy?
>
> > > > > # How much difference is there in the end product?
>
> > > > > # Has anyone done side by side tests to determine the difference in
> > > > > result between wines which have been fermented, fined and bottle aged
> > > > > vs wines which have been gravity cleared, bulk aged and then bottled?
>
> > > > > I would be interested to hear considered opinion or fact on this...
> > > > > Best wishes to all of you at this most productive time of year!
>
> > > > > Jim
>
> > One aspect in fining , especially with reds is dropping out a little
> > bit of color , etc. I've made a few kits , and unless it's a kit
> > that's supposed to finish with an appreciable amount of reidual
> > sugar , I chuck the sorbate....don't like the taste. Keep looking for
> > carboys (glass....doesn't breathe ) or demijohns..........they allow
> > you to bulk age with th only attention being given is checking your
> > traps every now and again.

Don't know....for me , once it's in the bottle , it's fair game , and
sort of disappears a little bottle at a time. On the other hand ,
knowing that pulling the trap and thiefing a bottle out here and there
is risky , I'm pretty much forced to leave it alone. It's also pretty
hard to oak something that gets bottled up right after fermentation
is done , and there's always the chance of Ml ferm starting after its
bottled up and on the shelf......never pretty....it'll make you feel
like a bomb disposal technician trying to get the rest of your bottles
uncorked. I've found that the longer I can leave it sit in carboys ,
the better it is for me.