How to keep wine

[brianc]

Hello I'm Brian.
I have done about Four 6 bottle red wine kits. The idea was to sort our favourite to then do a thirty bottle kit.
Well we have enjoyed them all so much we are unable to really come down hard on one or the other.
So we have got a thirty bottle beverdale Merlot almost ready for the finings to be added.

My question is:- because I would like to save about 6 bottles to test the theory that the wine improves with time. Could you advise me if I need to add anything to the ones I hope to save. A friend tells me that I need to add a crushed Camden tablet for every gallon I intend keeping over 6 months.
I'm wondering if this is in fact the thing to do or not.
Also could anyone advise how long I could store the wine after bottling if I don't add anything.

I do take care to follow the instructions and tend also to be quite obsessive about sanitising all my equipment brew bins bottles corks tubing etc.I will be frustrated if I save 6 bottles that turn out to I have deteriorated after about a year for the lack of not knowing what I'm doing.
I must admit the 6 bottle kits never get to be aged beyond about 6 weeks.

Reading other posts people talk of bulk ageing etc but I really only thought to save a few bottles from each future batch.
Friends and family will ensure that the main bulk disappears well before 6 months is reached.
best regards to all Brian

 

[Featherhat]

As I understand it ,Brian, the camden tablets help prevent oxidation and to some extent, bacterial infection. It's common commercial practice to use them. How often have you seen " contains sulphites" on a wine label? I'm a big fan of bulk ageing and store my wine in demijohns for 2 or 3 months before bottling. I will, one day, leave a bottle for a year to see how. much it improves but that will require making more than I can drink. In short, if you've got camden tablets use 'em, unless you or someone you know is allergic. They dont harm the wine at all

 

[Chippy_Tea]

Would the potassium metabisulfite not already be mixed in with the wine stabiliser in a kit?

 

[brianc]

Would the potassium metabisulfite not already be mixed in with the wine stabiliser in a kit?

Hello Chippy. I certainly used the stabiliser sachet I presume that this has some type of preservatives.
My question really is to get some idea how long a kit wine can be saved before it spoils. Although if the 30 bottle one is as good a the previous 6 bottle kits perhaps I may not be disciplined enough to leave it that long.
Regards Brian

 

[Chippy_Tea]

It will be interesting to see if anyone here ages kit wine fore very long periods, the cheap stuff i make doesn't last long as we don't have a lot of space for making and storing it.

 

[tonyhibbett]

While kit wines benefit from a couple of weeks storage, in my experience they don't significantly improve over time, with the exception of California Connoisseur reds, for some reason. Grape juice concentrate has undergone a heating process to remove most of the water content and is then stored with preservatives in bulk, so by the time you get it, it has already undergone a maturing period. Wine made from fresh ingredients, on the other hand, needs time to mature.

 

[dave0w]

I give wine kits around 4 weeks to age, then i start to drink. if i do 2 bottles a week and i have a 30 bottle kit the last bottle would be 19 weeks aged and i have never really noticed a difference.

many bottles may get longer then the numbers i have shown because i do a few kits at a time.

 

[penguinarmy]

Ive stored WOW for 3 months and drank it.... defiantly improves with age. I've got some in storage now that i intend to leave a year before i drink it, IMHO the longer you leave it the better it tastes,

 

[Forkbeard]

A Wilko Merlot kit definitely tastes a bit better (to me at least) after a year in the bottle. Whether that bit justifies waiting a full year before supping would be down to the individual I suppose.

 

[brianc]

As I understand it ,Brian, the camden tablets help prevent oxidation and to some extent, bacterial infection. It's common commercial practice to use them. How often have you seen " contains sulphites" on a wine label? I'm a big fan of bulk ageing and store my wine in demijohns for 2 or 3 months before bottling. I will, one day, leave a bottle for a year to see how. much it improves but that will require making more than I can drink. In short, if you've got camden tablets use 'em, unless you or someone you know is allergic. They dont harm the wine at all

Thank you for your comments. I have got a wine filter and did intend filtering my merlot. However I think your idea to age the wine for a month or so in demijohns is a great idea. I'm going to do myself. I have 7 demijohns so I'm going to use 3 with approx one gallon in each then bottle the rest.
I'll filter the wine I'm bottling.
What my question is should I filter the wine that I'm keeping in bulk first or in a few months when I get round to bottling it.

Best regards Brian

 

[Featherhat]

Thank you for your comments. I have got a wine filter and did intend filtering my merlot. However I think your idea to age the wine for a month or so in demijohns is a great idea. I'm going to do myself. I have 7 demijohns so I'm going to use 3 with approx one gallon in each then bottle the rest.
I'll filter the wine I'm bottling.
What my question is should I filter the wine that I'm keeping in bulk first or in a few months when I get round to bottling it.

Best regards Brian

Hi Brian
You may find that after leaving your wine it won't need filtering. You may also find that filtering strips out some subtle flavours. I have never filtered and only rarely use finings. Preferring to let time work it's magic. It can't be emphasised too strongly that the most important ingredient in a good wine is patience.

 

[brianc]

Hi Brian
You may find that after leaving your wine it won't need filtering. You may also find that filtering strips out some subtle flavours. I have never filtered and only rarely use finings. Preferring to let time work it's magic. It can't be emphasised too strongly that the most important ingredient in a good wine is patience.

Right I'll leave it without filtering. I must admit years ago I never filtered any wine it's only recently when I fell for the sales talk that filtering the wine gives it a "polished look" I think the phrase used was.
I didn't think of that about removing some of the more subtle flavours.
I'll save the pads I have until I really need them. I've tasted the wine and even though it's only just clear it isn't bad. Perhaps a slightly harshness which I think the period of ageing should help with. That said I bought plenty from the supermarket over the years that I don't believe are as good as this now.
Thank you for taking the trouble to pass on your advice.
Best wishes Brian.