Bulk aging

Depends on the wine, but I think my country wines benefit from bulk aging as well as bottle aging. There's less chance of temperature and other things to affect the wine, if you bulk age for a bit. I generally do 1 gallon batches, so it is a bit easier for me to hide a 1 gallon container for 4 months, than it would for a 3 or 5 gallon container. I hide then in a closet, behind a couch, you'd be surprised by how creative one gets when you want to bulk age. I've been surprised by how the wines change, really, I do taste tests and write down my observations. My pumpkin wine in particular tasted like rocket fuel at 3 months, but after bottling at 7 months, I was surprised to find it had mellowed into a Riesling-like wine. I'm going to be very good at letting it sit in the bottles until it is 2 years old, like they say to do - should be very nice then. The wines I make from frozen juice concentrates are good at 7 months, but very, very nice at 18 months. Darlene

I think Darline is right on. Bulk aging withstands temperature fluctuations better than bottle age wine. As far as the space, it is sort of 6 of one and half a dozen of the other. A 5 gal carboy takes up a lot of space but so do 25 individual bottles of wine. I think bulk aging is beneficial but if you do not have the space then you live with reality.

Ray

Think creatively. It does not have to sit in the wine making area. How about the bottom of a closet? We take showers an the tub is never used. A half dozen carboyswould fit there. Just be sure to check the airlocks on a regular basis.

One point to keep in mind -- a full 5- or 6-gallon carboy is pretty darn heavy! Unless you enjoy the exercise, try to put them in places where you won't have to move them much.

Bart