Newbie Questions

[rpsroberts]

Hi all,


I am new to the forum and new to wine making and having read though many of the posts a couple questions have come up. First, if I gather correctly, many of you have kits sitting on the shelf waiting to be turned into wine. I fully understand this philosophy.

What is the shelf life of a kit?


Second, if I also understand correctly, the primary fermentation needs plenty of oxygen, but from that point on, one should do everything possible to keep oxygen from the wine. There are lots of ways mentioned to do this such as topping off the carboy with leftover wine or even a bottle of purchsed wine. has anyone tried using nitrogen? you can buy the little "Wine Saver" nitrogen canisters for about $5.Is nitrogen a bad idea?


Ray

 

[bilbo-in-maine]

Welcome, Ray - thanks for posting and saying hi!

Regarding shelf life, it is difficult to know with any degree of certainty just
how long you might expect to safely keep a kit. The manufacturer's code
label will give you the info on production date, but you don't know what
conditions the kit has seen after that (hot or cold storage, rough
handling, etc.) You could check manufacturers' websites to get
recommendations. Also, George may have better insight into this.

As for excluding oxygen, the most that's usually emphasized is proper
topping up and keeping the aging wine under airlock. There are forums in
which members do advocate using argon (and apparently nitrogen). I
think we are seeing the early days of this practice and there is by no
means a consensus that it is preferred practice. What we do now, the
established ways, work well if done well. Just my opinion.

Bill

 

[rpsroberts]

OK, thanks. I know that nitrogen is supposed to be odeless and tasteless, but that doesn't mean it won't react adversely and become LESS tasteless. I think I'll stay with the tried and true method for now.





Ray

 

[PolishWineP]

Oh! I like that! What a great way of phrasing it! "become LESS tasteless." Welcome to the forum!

 

[geocorn]

Winexpert warrants their kits for one year after production date. You can find the date on the white strip on top of the box that you are requested to save. The code is in 3 parts:


1. First 2 digits is the production run on that day,


2. Next 3 digits are the number of day from the beginning of the year on which the kit was made, and


3. The last 2 digits are the year.


For example, 0333105 translates into the third run on the 331st day of the year (November 27th) in the year 2005.


I can not speak for other stores, but all of my kits are always stored between 60-75 degrees. As a result, they should be good for over 1 year from the production date.