Would I get a better quality wine if I used a 19 litre carboy instead of a 23 litre carboy when making 4 week (7.5 litre) wine kits?
At first thought, one would assume that by doing this, you would bet a fullerbodied wine. This is true, however, the wine will also have more tannins, higher acidity and higher alcohol. This wine would then require a much longer time to age. The wine will also be improperly balanced. Also, there may be troubles with fermentaion and clearing due to the higher pH, acidity and sugar levels. Think of it as making frozen orange juice and adding only two cans of water instead of three. Another thing to remember is that by making only 19 litres, you will end up with about five less bottles of wine.
