I started making wine kits back in October and have bottled three
batches thus far. I also have three others on the go, in various
stages. I do the primary and secondary fermentation in my kitchen,
then move the carboys into my basement after stablizing. I store my
bottled wines in a small "cellar" that I constructed, which has room
for about 250 bottles. The room is totally dark and stays at a
constant temperature of about 61 degrees. I have been using this room
for the settling process as well, since it is dark and much cooler
than my kitchen. My first three kits were made pretty much according
to the kit instructions, maybe with a couple of weeks more than the 6
weeks called for by the kit makers. I am trying my best to leave my
new wine alone so it can age a bit, but its difficult because as a
newbie I don't have an inventory of aged wines. My first kit has only
been in bottles for three months!
The regulars in this group are always preaching the virtues of bulk
aging, many saying you must bulk age for a year or more. The closest
I've come to this practice is a kit I started before Christmas, a
Spagnalls RQ Pinot Noir. I plan on bottling it at the beginning of
April, which is about 2 months past the 6 weeks called for in the kit
instructions. Maybe when my cellar has been stocked I can think about
more serious bulk aging in future kits.
I have a few questions. Since the main virtue of bulk aging is more
stability in temperature, won't I get a similiar benefit by bottle
aging in my dark, temperature stable cellar?
I use only premium kits. The owner of the store I get them from, as
well as the kit manufacturers, say that these wines should be consumed
within 2 or 3 years, and that they don't really improve past a year.
If this is true, wouldn't a wine kit left to bulk age for over a year,
then bottle aged for a few months more, have only a period of about a
year before it starts to degrade? This hobby is teaching me patience,
and I want to maximize the quality of my wines, but if what I have
been told is true, aren't I wasting limited shelf life of my wines by
bulk aging for over a year? I would appreciate any thoughts you
regulars may have on my concerns.

Rob

"rob davis" > wrote in message ...
> I started making wine kits back in October and have bottled three
> batches thus far.

Much too soon. It will get better as time goes by.

> The regulars in this group are always preaching the virtues of bulk
> aging, many saying you must bulk age for a year or more. The closest
> I've come to this practice is a kit I started before Christmas, a
> Spagnalls RQ Pinot Noir. I plan on bottling it at the beginning of
> April, which is about 2 months past the 6 weeks called for in the kit
> instructions.

> I have a few questions. Since the main virtue of bulk aging is more
> stability in temperature, won't I get a similiar benefit by bottle
> aging in my dark, temperature stable cellar?

Maybe, but why not leave it in the carboy? If you are in a hurry, get a
couple of 19 liter carboys and bottle some and age the rest.


> I use only premium kits. The owner of the store I get them from, as
> well as the kit manufacturers, say that these wines should be consumed
> within 2 or 3 years, and that they don't really improve past a year.
> If this is true, wouldn't a wine kit left to bulk age for over a year,
> then bottle aged for a few months more, have only a period of about a
> year before it starts to degrade?

I'm drinking wine that is 2 to 4 years old and have a couple of bottles that
are over 5 years. Still good.

This hobby is teaching me patience,
> and I want to maximize the quality of my wines, but if what I have
> been told is true, aren't I wasting limited shelf life of my wines by
> bulk aging for over a year?

I don't think so.
Ed

http://pages.cthome.net/edhome

Rob, I too am making this particular Pinot Noir and have been making wines
from kits, sterile juice and fresh juice for several (8) years. I don't
claim to know it all but my experience has shown that at least six months
ageing in the conditions you described will do wonders for your red wine
kits and nine months to a year would be better yet. As a matter of fact, I
intend to bulk age this Pinot Noir RQ for 12 to 18 months before bottling.
At this time, my egg white fined Pinot Noir has been in a carboy for six
weeks........66 weeks to go.........
Cheers,
Rory

sterile juice eh? thats what im using at the moment got any recipes?
"R. A. Vinson" > wrote in message
...
> Rob, I too am making this particular Pinot Noir and have been making wines
> from kits, sterile juice and fresh juice for several (8) years. I don't
> claim to know it all but my experience has shown that at least six months
> ageing in the conditions you described will do wonders for your red wine
> kits and nine months to a year would be better yet. As a matter of fact,
I
> intend to bulk age this Pinot Noir RQ for 12 to 18 months before bottling.
> At this time, my egg white fined Pinot Noir has been in a carboy for six
> weeks........66 weeks to go.........
> Cheers,
> Rory
>

I think that you are showing admirable restraint!
Many years ago (too many) when I made my first gallon of home made wine it
didn't survive long enough to age more than a week! --- and it was
wonderful stuff! I would hope that, if you haven't already tried your first
kit wine, you open a bottle now and enjoy the efforts of you labours and
indeed your first batch as a whole should now be enjoyed with perhaps saving
just a couple to age for a year and to sample them then.
In my early days I made a lot of "country" wines as well and the kit wines
were pretty basic stuff. They were bottled and corked using a fiendish
mallet to hammer the cork through a tube and I stuck on a tacky piece of
luggage label to identify it.
Doesn't bear comparison with my finished product nowadays but then I didn't
have a pc in those days and shrink wrap hadn't been invented ( neither had
floor corkers!)
So, although I am in total agreement with the process of bulk aging and
bottle aging, I would recommend that you enjoy your first wines now --- and
get some more on the go to build up your stock.

And a belated "Welcome to the club"!!!!!


--
Trevor A Panther
In South Yorkshire, England
Remove "PSANTISPAM" from my address line to reply.
All outgoing mail is scanned by Norton
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"rob davis" > wrote in message
news:404fd190.9661360@news...
> I started making wine kits back in October and have bottled three
> batches thus far. I also have three others on the go, in various
<snip><snip>

I agree with Trevor completely. There is time to bulk age after you have
your stock up. Enjoy what you have now. Heck, you might find that you
prefer some of it young. You do not have to like the same styles others
like.

In fact, treat it as a learning experience. When you make a new type of
wine, start drinking a bottle a month when it is first drinkable. Keep
notes. It will help you to better enjoy future batches.

Ray

"Pinky" > wrote in message
news
> I think that you are showing admirable restraint!
> Many years ago (too many) when I made my first gallon of home made wine it
> didn't survive long enough to age more than a week! --- and it was
> wonderful stuff! I would hope that, if you haven't already tried your
first
> kit wine, you open a bottle now and enjoy the efforts of you labours and
> indeed your first batch as a whole should now be enjoyed with perhaps
saving
> just a couple to age for a year and to sample them then.
> In my early days I made a lot of "country" wines as well and the kit wines
> were pretty basic stuff. They were bottled and corked using a fiendish
> mallet to hammer the cork through a tube and I stuck on a tacky piece of
> luggage label to identify it.
> Doesn't bear comparison with my finished product nowadays but then I
didn't
> have a pc in those days and shrink wrap hadn't been invented ( neither
had
> floor corkers!)
> So, although I am in total agreement with the process of bulk aging and
> bottle aging, I would recommend that you enjoy your first wines now ---
and
> get some more on the go to build up your stock.
>
> And a belated "Welcome to the club"!!!!!
>
>
> --
> Trevor A Panther
> In South Yorkshire, England
> Remove "PSANTISPAM" from my address line to reply.
> All outgoing mail is scanned by Norton
> Anti Virus for your protection too!
> "rob davis" > wrote in message
> news:404fd190.9661360@news...
> > I started making wine kits back in October and have bottled three
> > batches thus far. I also have three others on the go, in various
> <snip><snip>
>
>

Thanks gentlemen. I truly appreciate the culture of helpfulness and
encouragement that exists in this group. As I post this message, I am
enjoying a glass of cab/merlot from my first kit. It tastes great and
I can definitely detect more depth and complexity than my last tasting
a month ago. My latest kit is a Kendall Ridge limited edition Dolcetto
which is just about finished its secondary fermentation. Waiting to
be started is a limited edition California Viognier. I'm going to have
a pretty nice inventory this summer.This hobby is so much fun, I
almost forgot that I haven't been able to play golf for the last 5
months. Almost...

Rob

Rob,
The only thing I would add to this discussion is that another [claimed]
virtue of bulk ageing is the surface area to volume ratio. That is, your
oxygen exposure is much lower in a 23l carboy than a 0.75l bottle.

What confuses me is when people (the Winewizard in Winemaker mag, included)
state that oxygen seeping through corks is not intentional nor a desired
action. I can't follow this reasoning at all and believe that a bottle does
definitely undergo a more oxidative (right word?) reduction than 25 of those
bottles in a carboy with a neck diameter only 3x that of the bottle. I'm
sure UC Davis or another prolific higher education system has produced
results showing that ageing is accelerated in the smaller volume format.

I'm not tying this rationale into your first post but I think it's clear
that ageing a wine is better for bouquet, flavors, etc. Of course, every
wine has a limit and the kits are showing to be much, much lower than a wine
crafted from quality fresh grapes.


Patrick

"rob davis" > wrote in message
news:40512b19.6108362@news...
> Thanks gentlemen. I truly appreciate the culture of helpfulness and
> encouragement that exists in this group. As I post this message, I am
> enjoying a glass of cab/merlot from my first kit. It tastes great and
> I can definitely detect more depth and complexity than my last tasting
> a month ago. My latest kit is a Kendall Ridge limited edition Dolcetto
> which is just about finished its secondary fermentation. Waiting to
> be started is a limited edition California Viognier. I'm going to have
> a pretty nice inventory this summer.This hobby is so much fun, I
> almost forgot that I haven't been able to play golf for the last 5
> months. Almost...
>
> Rob