I've been making fruit wines - without sulfites- for over 30 years.
The darker fruit wines with natural antioxidants last for many years.
Over seven years ago, I started making enough wine each year to put
some aside for testing. There is a myth that fruit wines don't last
as long. There is also a MYTH that wines can not be made without
sulfites. NEITHER IS TRUE!

Lighter, more delicate wines such as peach may be better young. It is
true, they may not last as long. Neither do some white wines which
also have much more sulfites than reds.

There are many variables - the natural antioxident content of the
wine, the quality of the fruit, the yeast you use for fermentation,
the alcohol content, conditions of storage: light and temperature.
Cherry, blackberry, cranberry, elderberry and plum have an excellent
shelf-life.

I am a wine myth-buster. For sulfite free winemaking, see my
website Natural-Winemaking.com.
Anine


On Feb 17, 6:27*am, "Tom Kunich" > wrote:
> I was reading an article on fruit wine and it said that you need to drink it
> young. What is young in this regard and if any of you had made fruit wine
> was that your experience?
>
> Seems to me that my grandfather made fruit wine and was drinking it for over
> 10 years out of a huge cask in the basement.