changes in taste with aging...?

[Paulc]

Can anyone talk about what wine tastes like at the different stages of making it? I realize it will be different between varities, red and white, etc but in general.

Is there a big difference between what I might taste bottling a wine that was started 7 weeks ago vs that wine after a year in the bottle? Just how much changing goes on in general, in a wine as it ages.

Are there rules of thumb that say if it "tastes like this" at bottling you are okay and if it "tastes like that" you have a problem?

thanks for whatever you can offer. Paulc

 

[Sirs]

well I know on Reds if you have alot of tannins when it is first fermented dry it can and has on most of mine have a real puckery taste to it, but that will leave after it ages some shortly some not so shortly lol. I had a mixed grape really dark full bodied was so astringent you could put it in your mouth and it would almost make you spit it back out reason was I had squeezed the daylights outta my must once it had went dry( I know better now) I didn't think it would ever be drinkable but turned out a few months later it was really good all that I call bitter/sourness had almost completely gone. Also found out not to leave skins in a white for most of the time in primary it does the same thing and takes it alot longer to clear. I'm not sure if this was type of stuff you was looking for or not but here it is lol

 

[winemaker_3352]

I have noticed with my whites that time does improve the taste. Couple months after fermentation the wine tasted real green and more like alcohol - i tasted again a month later and the wine mellowed out a ton and more of the fruit aromas are peeking through - the strong alcohol taste has subsided as well. I still have about 7 more months to go before bottling - but i am extremely excited to sample the finished product before bottling.

My suggestion is to sample every few months - see what kind of tastes you experience along the way. This will also help you with future batches - what to expect at various stages.

 

[Paulc]

Thanks guys, that is helpful. I was a little concerned when I bottled my super tuscan kit because there was noticeable grape, little alcohol taste, and not astringent at all....didn't know if those were good signs or bad signs. I am going to open a bottle Sunday for some guests just for kicks and giggles.

Anyone else have comments on what your wine tastes like when it is real young vs aged...

Paulc

 

[Wiz]

I make only fruit wines and age in bulk for 3 months and then bottle. I let it age in the bottles before I sample. I have found that my blackberry is drinkable shortly after bottling but then again a transformation takes place in the 4th and 5th month that really blends and mellows the flavors. I did a pineapple that was simple high test when I bottled in 3 months. Three months later the alchohol taste is gone but there is a medium strong underling flavor that I have found in white grape wines that I really did not like. I think it needs a couple more months. My fruit medley had a great taste at bottling time but I'm letting it go to 6 months to try again. Same with my strawberry, papaya and mango. I guess I should also mention that my wife like a medium sweet wine while I prefer a dry wine with just a slight after taste of the fruit with a bite.

 

[phermenter]

Paul: That's actually a pretty good question, one I could as easily ask as answer after 2 1/2 years of doing wine kits (and my experience is just in kits, so take it for what it's worth).

I have found that cheaper kits come out of the gates tasting decent, and don't get that much better. But the better kits take time. With the reds, I've seen stuff that was just too fruity at 6 months develop character and different layers of taste at 1 to 1 1/2 years. With whites, particularly high-end chardonnays, they often taste rough and sharp early, then mellow out later and the fruit and oak and buttery taste harmonize at 1 to 1 1/2 years.

Jim

 

[EngineJoe]

Paul: That's actually a pretty good question, one I could as easily ask as answer after 2 1/2 years of doing wine kits (and my experience is just in kits, so take it for what it's worth).

I have found that cheaper kits come out of the gates tasting decent, and don't get that much better. But the better kits take time. With the reds, I've seen stuff that was just too fruity at 6 months develop character and different layers of taste at 1 to 1 1/2 years. With whites, particularly high-end chardonnays, they often taste rough and sharp early, then mellow out later and the fruit and oak and buttery taste harmonize at 1 to 1 1/2 years.

Jim

This is encouraging. I just tasted my RJS Cru Select Aussie Shiraz for the first time (today was the post-stabilization racking, heading into bulk storage) and it was much like Paul described... grapey, some alcohol. Nothing too integrated or at all complex. Nowhere near as good as the reasonably priced commercial AU Shiraz I used to top off the carboy. I couldn't imagine that it could gain any significant depth from where it was today.

So hopefully time will do for this wine what it has done for yours, Jim!

 

[robie]

Young reds taste tart or green, like the taste of a green apple. If the midst of the tartness, with a little experience tasting green wine, you can pretty well tell how the wine tastes. As time passed, that tartness gets less and the true taste of the wine becomes more prevalent and starts to smooth out.

Whites start out less green and usually develop faster.

 

[Wannabe]

Thanks for the descriptions. I know it must be hard to put into words but it's really helpful to us newbies. Good information!

 

[deboard]

Wiz: My brother made a pineapple wine, and it really improved dramatically after a year. The pineapple taste came back with a vengeance, very good.

 

[Luc]

Several things happen at aging a wine.

First tartaric acid my cluster together and form crystals. These grown and sink to the bottom of the wine. That may make your wine less acidic.

Next a bit of oxygen is always introduced at bottling. That undergoes a chemical reaction with some materials in the wine which alters flavor. This is over a timespan of moths.

Tannins in the wine may setlle down and form sediment (dark matter at the sides of the bottle) and make your wine less harsh

All kind of chemical reactions take place in which flavor compounds are chemically bound and that changes flavor.

Any residual sugar (if table sugar) may under the influence of acid decompose in invert sugar and that will influence sweetnesws as invert sugar tastes in fact a bit sweeter as table sugar.

Acids may bind with alcohol to form esters. That will indeed change flavor.

There are thousands of things going on in your wine and that is why most wines need to age at least a year.

Try this

Take a bottle of your wine.
Divide it over two smaller bottles.
Put one of these in the fridge and one in the freezer.
The one in the freezer will change dramatically.
This will give you an indication of what will happen.

I tested that once read the story here:
http://wijnmaker.blogspot.com/2010/01/freeze-it.html

Luc

 

[roadwarriorsvt]

Man I wish this thread had been available before I back-sweetened my lychee wine. I sweetened it to a level that the wife and I liked. Now I've learned that fruit wines may get sweeter with aging! I hope it doesn't turn into a derert wine!