Aging

You guys were saying to age it for a year. Does additional time improve the wine?

Reply to
Tom Kunich
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After the first year does further aging change the taste of the wine?

Reply to
Tom Kunich

Yes.

I've occasionally had a few bottles that got shoved to the back of the cabinet, and not excavated until they were 7-8 years old -- and they were excellent, much better at that age than at 1-2 years.

Generally, the longer you age wine, the better it gets, as long as you protect it adequately against degradation. A chemical reaction takes place between the alcohol and the various acids in the wine which changes the acids into esters, a class of compound which is responsible for the flavors and aromas of most foods. This reaction occurs very slowly, and continues for years. The longer wine ages, the more complex the flavors become, as more and different esters are formed. It's important to protect the wine from oxidation and from degradation by ultraviolet light, if you want to age it for any length of time. This means using the longest, tightest, best corks you can afford; using adequate levels of sulfite in the wine; and storing it in dark bottles in a dark place.

I try to age mine at least two years before drinking it, and I have found that three years is better -- although the difference between two years and three is not as great as the difference between one year and two. I just this weekend bottled some Shiraz that I made from fresh juice last fall, and it's *really* good -- so I plan to wait at least another year before I drink any more of it.

Reply to
Doug Miller

How long should you age your wine?

Someone told me that you only need put it aside for a year but others have told me that the longer you age it the better. So what's the concensus here?

Reply to
Tom Kunich

Ya know, Tom, the main reason for making your own wine is to make something that _you_ enjoy. The only way that you're going to learn what works _for you_ is to experiment.

So I suggest you try this: After you bottle your next batch of wine, divide the bottles into groups of at least three or four bottles each, and mark them to be consumed:

- immediately

- three months after bottling

- six months

- one year

- eighteen months

- two years

- three years

A year later, make another batch of the same wine, and do the same thing with it. Do it again after another year, and again a year after that. Then you can do side-by-side comparisons of wines that are new, one, two, and three years old, and that should give you a pretty good idea of how long you should age your wines so that you will be happy with them.

Reply to
Doug Miller

That's a good idea. I'll try it.

Reply to
Tom Kunich

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