"Geoff McCaughan" > wrote in message
...
> I have three questions about winemaking:
>
> 1) I have a book of wine recipies, which for some of the fruit wine
suggests
> adding a wineglass of brandy to the secondary "if desired". Why would I
> desired this? What will it do to the wine?

I have not seen that one and, like you, I see not reason to do it and can
think of several to not do it. a) it is expensive, b) it could cause a
stuck frement, and c) it would chang the taste.

>
> 2) I have read that when metabisulphide tablets are dissolved in water,
the
> solution can be kept for later use. Can it be kept indefinitely, or does
the
> solution get weaker over time?
>
Limited shelf life. I would not use it more than a few months. In fact I
would not do it except as a sanitizing agent.

> 3) Another winemaking book I have says that one should not give up on a
wine
> too quickly, and that once the author threw out a batch, only to discover
a
> few years later that a bottle that hadn't been thrown out tasted
wonderful.
> How many years should I keep a wine I don't like before I give up on it
> completely?

Very true. It depends on you stroage capacity. We all have stories about
wines that we kept and they turned out great. I have kept bad wines for up
to 8 years before they became good. I have also thrown wines out after 2
years. It depends a lot on what fault the wine is exhibiting.

>
> My first-ever batch of plum wine is delicious, and I haven't even bottled
it
> yet.
>
> Geoff,
> North Loburn,
> New Zealand
>
> --
> Burn the land and boil the sea,
> You can't take the sky from me.
Sorry but they can. The night sky is gone due to light pollution and the
day sky is lessened by regular pollution. Maybe it seemed true when it was
written.