how long to bottle fruit wine?
My mother left 10 gallons of homemade blackberry wine that just needed to be bottled in my cellar. It has stayed at a relatively constant temperature. I thought she had said at one time that fruit wine had to be bottled within two years. It’s been in there nearly four years. It was always very good wine and I don’t want to throw it out if it is still good and can be bottled but if it can’t be saved I need to get rid of it before the water jugs it’s in break! I lost contact with her shortly after it was put in there and I don’t have anyone else to ask! Is it safe to bottle or should I chunk it? Thanks
Tagged with: blackberry wine • chunk • fruit wine • water jugs
Filed under: All Things Wine
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When storing your precious homemade wine for the long-term–after
it has been bottled–it is usually understood that cooler is
better. Most wine experts agree that the ultimate storage temp-
erature for most bottled wines is 55 degrees F.
Cooler temperatures slow down the effects of oxidation. The same
is true with reduced light exposure. Both help to reduce the
symptoms caused by having too much oxygen in a wine.
But, don’t get too hung up on temperature. The improvement is
only marginal for each degree you go down in temperature. For
instance, a 65 degree basement is much, much better than an 75
degree dinning room. This 10 degree improvement is a major
benefit. But a 55 degree storage area is only marginally better
than a room that is 65 degrees.
While there is some benefit by going on down to 55 degrees F.
from 65 degrees, it is only minor as compared to getting the wine
away from a 75 degree F. room.
Taste it. If it tastes alright, get it into smaller bottles to protect it from the air. Then invite me over for a bit of tippling.
Is ur mom dead???//?
What kind of jugs is it in already? Are they sealed, or do they have air-locks on them? Are the air-locks dried out? If they have dried out airlocks, the wine may be no good. First off, I’d use a sanitized siphon hose or turkey baster to take a sample of the wine and see if it is any good. If so, bottle it up. If it’s vinegar, make salad dressing with some of it, and chuck the rest. Also, if its in clear jugs, does the wine look clear, or is there all kinds of chunky stuff and mold growing on it? Clear, still liquid, might be good. Chunky and mold, well, definitely bad.