Aged carboy in non-air conditioned room, now what?

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Cabernut

Junior
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Hello, it's been quite a while since I've been on and have had quite the hiatus from winemaking, so I'm still essentially a beginner, 5 years from my first batch. Anyway, in December 2015, I made a batch of wine from a kit(my 5th ever?). Cellar Craft Sterling Cabernet Sauvignon. I don't remember if it was the 5-week or 6-week but it was the first one I made with a grape skin pack.

Over the winter it was comfortably aging in the carboy in the "cool" room. However due to life events, I have not been able to tend to this batch and it has sat, "aging", in this non-air conditioned room over the summer with temps usually in the 80's and occasional 90s. There is no sunlight to this room and the window stayed open so I assume temps were equal to outdoor temp.

Now that I have to decide what to do with this carboy and either bottle it or empty it down the drain. I'd much rather drink at least some of it.

I can imagine it won't taste the best, but what kind of condition do you think it's in by now? At least personally drinkable like a cheap table wine?
 
Assuming that either you kept up with the airlock, or that it didn't dry out, that's your first hurdle. Assuming also that it doesn't have any visible signs of bacterial growth, hurdle number two cleared. Take a good whiff and see how it smells, if ok, good sign. First action should be to rack it, guessing you probably have some sediment, and get some KMS in there to protect it going forward. Then it's just a matter of the taste, which can be compromised at higher temps, and can also prematurely age your wine. Hope it's still drinkable for you.
 
Just to follow-up, I did exactly as suggested in the two posts above, every sign was good and thiefed a hefty glass. I was pleasantly surprised that it still tasted pretty good. I would say it seemed just past peak, maybe "90%". There was a stronger alcohol presence than I expected, but all-in-all it's still very drinkable.

I added a pinch of k-meta and refreshed the airlock until I can prepare a couple dozen bottles.

I think before I start another batch, I'll have to look around for a mini-fridge type carboy cooler so I can keep it at a stable temp.
 

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