How long should you age your wine?

Someone told me that you only need put it aside for a year but others have
told me that the longer you age it the better. So what's the concensus here?

On 11/9/2011 6:08 PM, Tom Kunich wrote:
> How long should you age your wine?
>
> Someone told me that you only need put it aside for a year but others have
> told me that the longer you age it the better. So what's the concensus here?

Ya know, Tom, the main reason for making your own wine is to make
something that _you_ enjoy. The only way that you're going to learn what
works _for you_ is to experiment.

So I suggest you try this: After you bottle your next batch of wine,
divide the bottles into groups of at least three or four bottles each,
and mark them to be consumed:
- immediately
- three months after bottling
- six months
- one year
- eighteen months
- two years
- three years

A year later, make another batch of the same wine, and do the same thing
with it. Do it again after another year, and again a year after that.
Then you can do side-by-side comparisons of wines that are new, one,
two, and three years old, and that should give you a pretty good idea of
how long you should age your wines so that you will be happy with them.

"Doug Miller" > wrote in message
...
>
> Ya know, Tom, the main reason for making your own wine is to make
> something that _you_ enjoy. The only way that you're going to learn what
> works _for you_ is to experiment.
>
> So I suggest you try this: After you bottle your next batch of wine,
> divide the bottles into groups of at least three or four bottles each, and
> mark them to be consumed:
> - immediately
> - three months after bottling
> - six months
> - one year
> - eighteen months
> - two years
> - three years

That's a good idea. I'll try it.

On Nov 10, 12:53*am, "Tom Kunich" > wrote:
> "Doug Miller" > wrote in message
>
> ...
>
>
>
> > Ya know, Tom, the main reason for making your own wine is to make
> > something that _you_ enjoy. The only way that you're going to learn what
> > works _for you_ is to experiment.
>
> > So I suggest you try this: After you bottle your next batch of wine,
> > divide the bottles into groups of at least three or four bottles each, and
> > mark them to be consumed:
> > - immediately
> > - three months after bottling
> > - six months
> > - one year
> > - eighteen months
> > - two years
> > - three years
>
> That's a good idea. I'll try it.

I've the last bottle of a wine I made 4 years ago from red grapes of
unknown variety for my father in law. It made a beautiful, rich,
pleasantly tannic and dark wine which was delicious at bottling! It
was even better the year after. The year after that it was ok, a
little bland, but I was starting to worry that it was degrading or
that my memory was aggrandised. The following year it was smooth and
pleasant but much less fruity. We plan to drink the last of it this
Christmas and then I will know if it peaked at 1 year, if I added
insufficient sulfites or if it is better again... I hope so.

I think there is a lot of craft in getting the balance right for even
a rich wine.

Jim