Storage Times

[minisvlad]

Hey all....
I've just started making my first batch of wine about a two weeks ago (Cellar Craft Barolo). It is sitting nicely in my carboy at the moment. My wife and I want to make more wine and get into making beer as well. Just seems like the right hobby for people that like what they drink and have an old coal cellar to convert into a nice storage area.

That being said... how long will the average bottle of wine last? Is there any method for getting the wine to last 2 to 3 years? It probably won't last that long, but I'd like to cover my bases... just in case a bottle or two slips through my grasp and stays in the wine rack longer.

Reading over the other threads on this site have given my some great insight.

Thanks.

 

[smurfe]

Well, I had typed you a nice detailed post on suggestions to age your wine longer but the forum logged me out for some reason before I could submit the post

Add an 1/8th teaspoon of K-Meta prior to bottling will add some extra sulfite's to protect the wine longer. Use good corks such as the Altec Semi-synthetics or a full synthetic. The agglomerate corks are intended for shorter storage times. You could use real corks but they are very expensive.

You say you have a root cellar, this is a plus. It will allow the wine to age slower and more evenly by keeping the wine at a constant temp and humidity. Remember to that a Borolo will take at least 2 years to come around to its potential. I have the Cellar Craft Amarone which is a very good wine that is right at 2 years in the bottle in less than perfect celler conditions that is just coming around.

Good luck and enjoy that Borolo

Smurfe

 

[Luc]

That being said... how long will the average bottle of wine last? Is there any method for getting the wine to last 2 to 3 years? It probably won't last that long, but I'd like to cover my bases... just in case a bottle or two slips through my grasp and stays in the wine rack longer.
.

The average bottle will last anything between 10 minutes after bottling and a few years.

The best way to get your wine last for 2 to 3 years is to put them in a sealed box or room and throw away the key

And on the serious site:

- Only reds are really suitable for long time aging.
- Mind the acidity. A higher acid percentage will have the wine aging a longer time as the
acidity will mellow over the years
- High alcohol wines are better preserved as low alcohol wines
- Use sulphite to preserve the wine
- Not the length of the cork matters, but the quality (no pun intended)
- Keep away from swift temperature changes: season changes are okay but day
and night should stay on average.

This should do the trick together with good winemaking practices like sanitising
and disinfecting your materials.

Luc

 

[minisvlad]

smurfe & Luc...

Thanks for the help. I knew that I had read up on this before (maybe on another site - I think homebrewtalk.com) but couldn't find the right thread again.

smurfe... does that 1/8th teaspoon go in the entire batch before bottling?? Or is that in each bottle??

 

[smurfe]

smurfe & Luc...

Thanks for the help. I knew that I had read up on this before (maybe on another site - I think homebrewtalk.com) but couldn't find the right thread again.

smurfe... does that 1/8th teaspoon go in the entire batch before bottling?? Or is that in each bottle??

The 1/8th tsp is for the entire batch. I can't remember if Cellar Craft puts that little tid bit of info in their instructions or not but it is quite advisable to do. Many are concerned about sulfite's but the kit wines have well less sulfite's than commercial wines do so there is no reason to worry about over sulfite in the wines.

Smurfe