What year you usually put on a label?
When wine was bottled or when primary fermentation was started?
I have some capsicumel which I started fermenting in the fall of 2003
and now, after 2 years and half is finally ready for bottling!
You have to be really patient with those meads.
Tee
--
Verba volant, scripta manent.

Put both.

We just had this discussion. Here you go.

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.c...901f70076043ca

We had this in a discussion earlier in the year - very good thoughtful
insights. Suggest you read it, I learned a lot. DAve

Tee Doubleyou wrote:
> What year you usually put on a label?
> When wine was bottled or when primary fermentation was started?
> I have some capsicumel which I started fermenting in the fall of 2003
> and now, after 2 years and half is finally ready for bottling!
> You have to be really patient with those meads.
> Tee
> --
> Verba volant, scripta manent.

Rule of Thumb:

Put the year the "fruit" was harvested, or if you don't know (i.e. if
you get frozen ingredients or such) then the year you began
fermentation.

If you wish, simply put a "bottled on" date as well...



I personally feel it is more important to know how old the wine is,
much more so than when it was bottled...but certainly that may not be
how you feel, so do whichever makes more sense to you...

Just to add an example (someone correct me if I'm mistaken):

Amarone will show the year the grapes were harvested, even though they
are air-dried for several months before fermentation begins, often into
the next calendar year...