Being new to wine making, I had yet to age a bottle past 12 months, except
by accident. We love the wine so much we find it nearly impossible to save
it, except by accident. One bottle we have saved is a bottle of "mystery"
wine. Laying in the rack for quite some time, the label was long gone and
we just passed it over for one that was identifiable. We finally opened it
and, much to our surprise, it was the best bottle of wine that we can
remember ever having- ever.

Going back to the wine log and sorting out the cork type, 1.5 L bottle size
etc. we realized it was the first Cabernet we ever made- A Brew King
Selection bottled 3/9/02. We saved it by mistake! The morale of this story
is that if you can save back bottles for a couple of years, you will be more
than rewarded for the time spent saving it. The other point is that if you
journalize your bottle sizes and cork types when bottling, and the shrink
top style and color, you can track down that mystery wine years later.

Thanks for a wonderful NG.

KB
STL Missouri

I have a very easy way to identify my wines. I use a marker and put a
number on the cork at bottling. The number corresponds to the number
in a log book with all the pertinent details. For my own use they are
easily identified in the rack. I dont use labels, shrink caps etc. as
I decant for company. However, for my friends, gifts, etc., I do use
labels, but the number is there as well under the shrink cap. Works
great for me.

I put a label on the wine bottle that says the name and year. Works for me.

The only solution to drinking your wine to fast for it to age is to make
more wine than you can drink.

Ray

"Kevin" wrote in message
om...
I have a very easy way to identify my wines. I use a marker and put a
number on the cork at bottling. The number corresponds to the number
in a log book with all the pertinent details. For my own use they are
easily identified in the rack. I dont use labels, shrink caps etc. as
I decant for company. However, for my friends, gifts, etc., I do use
labels, but the number is there as well under the shrink cap. Works
great for me.