When does wine begin aging?

[Segarram]

Can someone please tell me when should you begin counting the age of wine?

1.) From the day you first pitch the yeast in the MUST?
2.) After primary fermentation?
3.) After fermentation and stabilization is complete?
4.) Or after bottling?

 

[Julie]

I always go when fermentation is complete, that is when it is wine.

 

[Runningwolf]

Again another tough question. Look on the store shelves at what the age of the wine is. It will be the vintage year. I like to think along the same line as Julie, when the wine is finished fermenting. In your own cellar you can guage this but a wine on the shelf not so easy. You could estimate it by their harvest season in that part of the country though.

 

[garymc]

I read that it's must until the yeast is added and then it's wine. You would think that would be a more clear dividing line, but there are people who don't add yeast and just let the natural yeast living on the grapes do the job. I don't think there's a clear answer, but it's not like you can use a stopwatch to start the timing, anyhow.

 

[Wiz]

This is a big discussion with lots of opinions. I make 100% of my wines from Italian concentrates and consider the start of aging athe end of degassing.

 

[dralarms]

Your'e supposed to age wine? Dang I was making it to drink.

 

[Segarram]

Based on all the posts thus far I'd say its safe to say that for the most part, the age of most homemade wine, has a variance of about one month.

 

[saramc]

I agree with Julie, aging does not start until the ferment is complete. I compare it to the birth of a child, the birthdate/time is not when labor starts but when the infant is delivered.

On the must definition comment, I had been taught that must is essentially any crushed fruit/juice that is getting ready to be fermented or is under the process of fermentation.

 

[Luc]

When fermentation has finished the wine is ready. Before that it is not wine but must.

So aging starts when the wine is finished.

Luc

 

[JohnT]

My feeling is that aging begins the minute the grapes are picked. Time can affect whole fruit as well as fermented juice.

 

[DoctorCAD]

The year is when the grapes are harvested. Any other date is up to you.

 

[Gedanken]

My feeling is that aging begins the minute the grapes are picked. Time can affect whole fruit as well as fermented juice.

I have to agree with you on this. As soon as the grape is picked a chain reaction is started that will have an effect on the end product. I guess you could play a semantic game and claim it isn't wine at that point. If that was the situation than it would be at the point that the yeast is pitched and actively processing the juice.

 

[DirtyDawg10]

Whether it is when you pitch the yeast or after fermentation we are talking weeks...in the grand scheme of things when we are talking years of aging, a week or two here or there isn't gonna make much difference.

 

[JohnT]

Whether it is when you pitch the yeast or after fermentation we are talking weeks...in the grand scheme of things when we are talking years of aging, a week or two here or there isn't gonna make much difference.

I hear you, but I still have to think that "speed to the crusher" is important.

 

[jswordy]

Can someone please tell me when should you begin counting the age of wine?

1.) From the day you first pitch the yeast in the MUST?
2.) After primary fermentation?
3.) After fermentation and stabilization is complete?
4.) Or after bottling?

None of the above. After it hits the esophagus. From there, it ages through the intestines, liver, heart, lungs, brain, kidneys and bladder before its final internment.

Rest in

 

[Boatboy24]

I age based on when I take it out of secondary.

So here's a fun question: I have a 2012 kit that I started in 2013. When should I say that one has started aging?

 

[Stefani]

Again another tough question. Look on the store shelves at what the age of the wine is. It will be the vintage year. I like to think along the same line as Julie, when the wine is finished fermenting. In your own cellar you can guage this but a wine on the shelf not so easy. You could estimate it by their harvest season in that part of the country though.

Interesting yet, the Vintage of a wine is the year the grape was picked. There have been very rare cases in history where grapes were picked in late December (in the case of Ice-wines) and not finished fermentation to wine until the next year.

For us wine makers who buy juices and kits it very likely that our wines would really be considered non-vintage. That is unless, the supplier supplied the pick date of the grapes the grape juice originated from.

 

[TomK-B]

I begin counting bulk aging after degassing. I start counting bottle aging at bottling. I'm sure the other forms of aging mentioned above are important, but I only count "bulk" and "bottle" aging.

 

[tonyt]

For my kits its after clearing and degassing.

 

[garymc]

I made a batch of wine in September, 2011 from grapes frozen in September, 2010. I call that freezer aging.