bottle shock

I could swear I read somewhere that bottling causes bottle shock or bottle sickness and you should wait at least a month to drink a newly bottled wine. Now I can't find where I read that. My question is, does this happen to all wines and does it really take a full month for it to go away? Thanks, Ron

It isn't your imagination. It does happen. The wine tastes fine at bottling and a couple days later tastes a bit off. It takes 3 weeks to a month for the taste to return to normal and then continues to improve with more age. Good luck and enjoy.

True that, Soe will be fine the next day and some can take weeks so it is best just to play it sfe and wait like a month.

Winemaking! I love it! We pay close attention to Specific Gravity, and acid and tannins and sorbates and SO2 levels and CO2 levels and fining agents and then... wait like a month!!!

Think of it this way. You live in a big house for a while. Then YOU are moved to a tiny Room.

How would you feel?

tepe said:

Think of it this way. You live in a big house for a while. Then YOU are moved to a tiny Room.

How would you feel?

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Very snug and cozy?

What causes this bottle shock is the pressure created when the cork is inserted into the bottle. For some reason, it causes the aromatics and phenols in the wine to "hide" for a bit.

Think of it like a steak coming off the grill. You have to let the steak rest for a few minutes to distribute the juices again, otherwise, if you cut into it, all the nice stuff runs out all over the plate, and you end up with a dry steak. Same with the wine. After you pressurize it by adding a cork, you have to wait for those flavor and scent molecules to evenly distribute in the wine again. Usually this takes up to 1 month.

Of course, I can go into the full chemical reaction/reason for all of this, but it would put 95% of you to sleep.

Tell me a night time story daddy! Great info Dean!

Guess I'll just have to have that Patience thing everyone is talking about. The hardest part of this whole process.

the patience thing is easy. What you do is make at least 4 or 5 kits per month for the first 2 years of the hobby. After that, you slow down to 4 or 5 kits per year to keep supplies up, but by that time, you have a cellar full of wine that is all coming of age, while you are making more to come of age.

Dean,

Are you factoring in the gifting wine?

lets see, thats 2880 to 3600 bottles the first 2 years. Not sure I'll live long enough to drink that much wine.

DEAN,

You must not be married. OR, have a huge basement to keep all those fermentingcarboys...

LOL



I make over 30 batches (6gallon) a year and that is still not enough..

rrussell said:

lets see, thats 2880 to 3600 bottles the first 2 years. Not sure I'll live long enough to drink that much wine.

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Whatever the correct number is, it is enough to get a good start on building up stock.


By my calculations- assuming 750 ml bottles-
4 kits/month x 12 months x 30 bottles/kit= 1440 Bottles
5 kits/month x 12 months x 30 bottles/kit= 1800 bottles


That would get you going iff it doesn't make you go broke first!

Wouldn't George like to have a few people making 4-5 kits for 12 straight months.

LOL, I am married, and she loves wine just as much as I do, or at least 1/2 as much. She's also my biggest critic and biggest fan. I love that she can give straight up reviews of my wine. If she doesn't like it, usually there is a good reason. She puts up with a lot, with all the wine, and yes, I have a HUGE basement here. I also have a garage out back with a nasty motorcycle habit. You see, I race the beasts, and I keep coming across these deals that I can't refuse. The problem is, now I have 12 motorcycles, and over 1200 bottles of wine. Soon, I'll start to have a house built like Jay Leno for my bikes.

But seriously, build up a good amount of wine, more than you can possibly drink or give away, and the aging of it will start to happen. Then you will be blessed with wonderfully aged wine, and friends to share it with. You'll be so much more proud, when something goes from good to outstanding!

Might be able to help you out Dean. We are thinking about doing another Alaskan cruise and will be boarding ship in Vancouver again if we decide to go. Planning on coming a few days earlier this time as there is more of your beautiful city I wuld like to see.

Dean, make that 99%. hahahaha

Dean, sounds to me like you have a great wife and 2 fun hobbies!! Enjoy life, my friend!!!