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i know reds done proper will last for many years,
will a higher ABV% give a white a longer shelf life,
i have trouble keeping my whites for very long due to demand,
but i got a few carboys of high octane pear,,and apple, and banana as well as peach, that i am thinking about hiding for a few more years, i'm bottling after a couple three years,
really just wondering since that was my plan when i started them, some have 3 years and the rest 2 years of bulk aging at this point. any thoughts, if they could last 10 years ????
thanks
Skoal
Dawg
they hae the same demand on reds, but i hide them as well
 
Last edited:
Hi,
I have a lemon wine that I opened last week. It was 5 years old and of anything tastier than the last time I had a bottle.
Don't know about 10 years - none of my wines have ever lasted that long, they tend to get drunk as soon as they are ready
 
A few guesses on shelf life
* yes it can be free of defect but it will have changed, ex my mom’s 1978 black raspberry carboy was low on acid taste/ balance when I started using her stuff in 2001. i have seen with my rhubarb that the total measured acid decreases when I go back and measure TA on five year old wine. I am guessing that acid combines with alcohol producing esters over time. So to have a balanced ten year old wine you will need th start with high acid.
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* the bottle needs the high oxygen barrier synthetic corks/ and in your case Dawg keep using them.
* the wine needs to run high on free SO2 when you bottle, target at least 50 ppm and possibly 75 ppm at bottling
* the white wine should have the maximum dosage of a low flavor tannin added. ,,, Another effect I see with black raspberry is that mine starts with “normal“ fruit taste > at 12 to 18 months it is obviously astringent/ which I guess to be small size tannins complexing into larger flavored tannins > the tannins continue complexing into larger non-flavored tannins/ ie mom’s twenty year old raspberry didn’t have astringent flavors.
* there is some work at AWRI with oxygen scavengers built into screw metal caps, ,,, or the nitrogen flushing, ,,, or vacuum corking > with the goal of reducing the normal bottle shock/ oxidation when the wine is bottled
 
I had an Apple-Riesling fun kit, that I chaptalized to 11% ABV, last 7 years when the last bottles were consumed. It would have gone longer.

Given that your wines are high octane, high sugar I'd expect that with a good SO2 dosage, you can get 10 years out of them. When in the carboy, put a cover on them to keep out light (if they are kept in the dark, that's a bonus).
 
When in the carboy, put a cover on them to keep out light (if they are kept in the dark, that's a bonus).
Are you saying we should cover the carboy even if it’s in a cellar? How much light is enough to cause problems? Mine are in an underground cellar where it is pitch black.
 
Sunlight is bad for wine. A friend left 2 carboy of whites for 2 years. Kept the airlocks full and treated with k-meta, but both oxidized. They got morning sun.

I have heavy curtains on the windows in my cellar, so it's dark-ish during the day. I do not have carboy covers, although I have used beach towels.

If I was bulk aging a white for years, I'd take extra preventative measures.

Next time my wife retires bed sheets (I leave such decisions in her capable hand) I will sew covers.
 
Sunlight is bad for wine. A friend left 2 carboy of whites for 2 years. Kept the airlocks full and treated with k-meta, but both oxidized. They got morning sun.

I have heavy curtains on the windows in my cellar, so it's dark-ish during the day. I do not have carboy covers, although I have used beach towels.

If I was bulk aging a white for years, I'd take extra preventative measures.

Next time my wife retires bed sheets (I leave such decisions in her capable hand) I will sew covers.
I cover everything in clear glass; beer and wine, both white and red. For a carboy from three gallon up, I use a black trash bag; often with a slit in the bottom to fit over the airlock. For a one gallon jug, I use a small black bag like the ones I get at the ABC store. I'm not willing to let any light in at any stage in the process. I started this habit with beer.

As long as everything stays clean, the bags can be reused. Just be careful if you grab one for a trash bag. :i
 
Ok. Since the cellar is “cave” dark I won’t worry about it. I have a small LED light that may be on twice a week for five minutes. I sometimes get a mouse in the cellar and I worry that mice could climb up to the airlock if I put covers on them. They don’t seem to be able to climb glass.
 
my wine room is blacked out unless i am playing/tasting, i keep 1 wool saddle pad an 1 throw blanket over the single window, i keep all chemicals in airtight 30 cal/// 50 cal and 20mm ammo boxes when not in use, over kill but learnt at a young age, when only elderberry, dandelion and muscadine were made around here ,,, of course now-a-days berries and the fruit world has expanded by far,
 
😂 I was actually worried they would chew on the bungs or the airlocks and break the seal.
I have no idea if mice would chew on the bungs. It never occurred to me that they would. I have had mice in the cellar a few times, but had no problems of that nature.

I make it a habit to check the wines every few days during bulk aging, just a quick view to make sure airlocks are full, bungs haven't popped, etc.
 
Brown paper grocery bags fit over carboys. I've used Trader Joe's and Kroger grocery bags with good luck.. Some are tighter fitting than others

I use laundry towels or beach towels.

On the question of fruit wines lasting over years, I had two bottles of Florida orange wine purchased by my parents as a touristy thing back in 1963. On opening, I found that the wine had turned to a sort of liqueur that was not disagreeable at all, even if the orange flavor had morphed to something "like orange."

I think whether country last a long time or not largely depends on the fruit, how high your sanitation practices are and the storage temperature. K-meta treated wines made in sanitary conditions and stored cool (50 F or slightly less) can last a very long time, again depending on the fruit. But it is a toss-up. I have some blueberry-second pressing muscadine blends that are going on 7 years old. whereas the pure muscadine wine made from the first pressing turned after 3 years. Fortunately, it was just about all gone by then.

I have some apple that I refrigerated in my farm shop fridge shortly after it was bottled, and it is now probably pushing 12 years. I spy it back there sometimes and wonder how it tastes, but have not tried it yet.
 
I have some blueberry-second pressing muscadine blends that are going on 7 years old. whereas the pure muscadine wine made from the first pressing turned after 3 years.
My first thought is the acid from the blueberries made the difference, as acid affects longevity. Probably so with the orange wine as well.

Sounds like a good time to pop a bottle of apple. While I wouldn't think it's a candidate for longevity, keeping it at 35-45 F may have made the difference.
 
well that pretty much answers what i was looking for,, i got 2 and a half cases of banana that i've spent 2 years on,, so odds are i will need to drink it in the next five years, I pulled out all the stops on it, allspice, cinnamon, white raisins, and some apples,, to bring it into balance, i could not bare the thought of it turing, so BOTTOMS UP,,, guess i'll tell my brother he'd better get with it, i gave him 5 and 1/2 cases, his is half like mine the other half has no allspice nor cinnamon, but other then that the same,,
Dawg
 

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