Consider the 28 days a minimum, not a maximum time to wait. It would not
hurt to wait 3 to 12 months or longer as long as you racked it off any
sediment once in a while and kept it topped up and the airlock full. In
general bulk aging is good for wine. Depending on the wine this is true
from 1 to 3 years.

That said, this is your first batch. Bottle it as soon as you can
conveniently get to it so you can start enjoying it. There will be time for
long aging with later batches. Just get those next batches started before
this one is gone.

Ray

"J F" > wrote in message
. ..
> Hi there,
>
> I have just got to the end of my first wine kit, and I'm getting ready to
> bottle. I am just curious about how soon I need to bottle this compared to
> instructions. I believe that the instructions said to bottle on day 28,
> which is tomorrow. However, I don't think that I'll be able to bottle
until
> the weekend. Is there any problems if I leave the wine in the carboy for a
> few extra days before I bottle it or is it important to get it bottled as
> soon as possible. The kit is a 4 week Shiraz kit, if that makes any
> difference.
>
> Thanks.
>
>