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.

"J F" wrote

> 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.

I didn't bottle my first kit until it had been in the
carboy for 3 months. While I'm no expert at wine,
it seemed to come out quite nicely. I just finished
up all the steps that the kit instructions said to do,
topped up the carboy right up into the neck area,
and left it in the corner of my basement for 3 months.

Ian

There will be no problem. In fact, virtually everyone who has made these kits
will tell you not to rush things...if you let it sit longer in the carboy, your
quality will improve, not degrade. THe longer you can wait, the better it will
be.


>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.
>
>

Nope.. Delay will not cause any problems at all... I have been know
to delay a few months with no ill effects

Later,
A.J. Rawls
Anchorage, Alaska, USA

On Wed, 24 Mar 2004 18:40:00 -0500, "J F" >
wrote:

>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.
>

I agree with everyone. Bulk aging is good for wines. The reason they say to
bottle it in 28 days is so that you have a finished product ready to drink.
But as everyone knows, aging the wine after bottling for at least 1 month
with improve the wine immensely. For the cost of a carboy, the bulk aging Vs
bottle aging is better. Just make sure that any aging is done in a glass
carboy not plastic.
Al

"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.
>
>

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.
>
>