Near catastrophe

[ColemanM]

So I looked in my dwindling stock of matured wines for something to drink and I found an unmarked bottle that I thought could have been a TWO year old WE port style kit. Alright! Something good! I passed on my one marked bottle that was a Marquette from 2012 back yard fresh grapes. 2013 vintage got decimated by the non stop rain during flowering. Walked upstairs and pulled out an appropriate glass, grabbed my screwpull bottle opener and "POP!" What the? Marquette champagne. Thank goodness the bottle didn't blow up! So, needless to say, I had to adjust my glassware and sit down to enjoy my accidental bubbly. Earthy stewed fruit chocolate nose. A little gamey. Beautiful bubbles. Dry finish. Definitely a red wine but still quite pleasant. Pinot noir like. I probably will never do this again, but I am looking at my frontenac blanc in a different light!! Moral of the story.... Patience is a wine makers best tool!!!!! Hydrometer kinda helpful, ph test strips ehh. Waiting til your wine is done fermenting before you bottle it.. YES!! Ok so that was my first real vintage from my back yard. Now with the information I have soaked up from you all here at WMT I am suuuure this would never have happened. Cheers.

 

[REDBOATNY]

So I looked in my dwindling stock of matured wines for something to drink and I found an unmarked bottle that I thought could have been a TWO year old WE port style kit. Alright! Something good! I passed on my one marked bottle that was a Marquette from 2012 back yard fresh grapes. 2013 vintage got decimated by the non stop rain during flowering. Walked upstairs and pulled out an appropriate glass, grabbed my screwpull bottle opener and "POP!" What the? Marquette champagne. Thank goodness the bottle didn't blow up! So, needless to say, I had to adjust my glassware and sit down to enjoy my accidental bubbly. Earthy stewed fruit chocolate nose. A little gamey. Beautiful bubbles. Dry finish. Definitely a red wine but still quite pleasant. Pinot noir like. I probably will never do this again, but I am looking at my frontenac blanc in a different light!! Moral of the story.... Patience is a wine makers best tool!!!!! Hydrometer kinda helpful, ph test strips ehh. Waiting til your wine is done fermenting before you bottle it.. YES!! Ok so that was my first real vintage from my back yard. Now with the information I have soaked up from you all here at WMT I am suuuure this would never have happened. Cheers.

I had the same thing happen with a Noiret, due to old sorbate. The 3 bottles that didn't blow up where delicious. It is funny that yeast will live forever, but sorbate goes bad in 12 months.