Question on Bottling

This may seem ridiculous, but I'm really new to this hobby of wine making. Not that I mind 750 ml bottles or corking. But is it possible, to bottle in gallon jugs, and to store it for any length of time. Lets say a year or two. If it makes a difference in the kind of wine I'm making, I'm working on five gallons of apple.

Sure it's possible, Justin. Why not.

I think the major worry, or thing to avoid, is in allowing too much oxygen to remain in the bottle once you seal it.

Keep the air space to a minimum, in other words.

Actually, bottling in a larger bottle would (or at least should) give you better capability for keeping your wine a longer period of time. You're decreasing the amount of oxygen in the bottle in relation to the amount of wine, so you should be slowing down oxidation. Plus, with most large jugs like that, you can use screwcaps!

I agree with Hoke. A few of our wines have been bottled in 4-liter amber screwcap bottles (these are quite available to those of us who work in labs and are guaranteed to be very clean). Much easier than dealing with corks.


Mike

Sure it's possible, Justin. Why not.

I think the major worry, or thing to avoid, is in allowing too much oxygen to remain in the bottle once you seal it.

Keep the air space to a minimum, in other words.

Actually, bottling in a larger bottle would (or at least should) give you better capability for keeping your wine a longer period of time. You're decreasing the amount of oxygen in the bottle in relation to the amount of wine, so you should be slowing down oxidation. Plus, with most large jugs like that, you can use screwcaps!

Agree 100%. Although I don't put my wines in 1-gallon glass jugs, I had the opprtunity and honor of visiting Dan Smothergill's cleverly crafted cellar a few weeks ago. He transfers his wines into 1-gallon jugs, and when he wants to open one of them he then fills five 750ml bottles as needed. Very ingenious method.

I think will try the gallon jugs with the poly seal caps that have that cone shaped polyethylene seal in them. Thanks for the words of encouragement from everyone. And I will fill them close to the top to eliminate head space and reduce oxidization.

... And I will fill them close to the top to eliminate head space and reduce oxidization.

Be sure to leave a little air space. If you seal it tightly, with all air eliminated you run the risk of a hydrostatic overpressure if it warms up - this could break the bottles. 1/2 to 3/4 inch would be adequate.

1/2 to 3/4 thanks. Could that happen with the use of a cork in a normal bottle also

Most corked bottles have a small air space, but under pressure, either the cork can push out or it may leak around the edges. The cork has a certain amount of "give". A tightly secured screw cap doesn't.

Adding a stabilizer before bottling it into the gallon jugs should eliminate any concerns right, or not?

The stabilizing I usually refer to is cold stabilizing (chilling the wine below 32F for a week or so) to precipitate tartrates and reduce the acidity. This is not necessary with apple wine, as it contains no tartrates. However, the wine should be clear and fermented to dry and SO2 (sulfur dioxide) raised to about 40-50 ppm (1/4 tsp of potassium metabisulfite in 5 gallons or a Camden tablet will accomplish this). If you want the wine to have some sweetness, you can add sugar, but you must also add potassium sorbate to prevent re-fermentation. Keep us posted as to how its going and good luck.
Also, go to the following link:
Home Winemakers Manual
Download the manual. It's an excellent book on winemaking and has a section on fruit wines.