country white wines

[hounddawg]

i know reds done proper will last for many years,
will a higher ABV% give a white a longer shelf life,
i have trouble keeping my whites for very long due to demand,
but i got a few carboys of high octane pear,,and apple, and banana as well as peach, that i am thinking about hiding for a few more years, i'm bottling after a couple three years,
really just wondering since that was my plan when i started them, some have 3 years and the rest 2 years of bulk aging at this point. any thoughts, if they could last 10 years ????
thanks
Skoal
Dawg
they hae the same demand on reds, but i hide them as well

 

[RevA]

Hi,
I have a lemon wine that I opened last week. It was 5 years old and of anything tastier than the last time I had a bottle.
Don't know about 10 years - none of my wines have ever lasted that long, they tend to get drunk as soon as they are ready

 

[Rice_Guy]

A few guesses on shelf life
* yes it can be free of defect but it will have changed, ex my mom’s 1978 black raspberry carboy was low on acid taste/ balance when I started using her stuff in 2001. i have seen with my rhubarb that the total measured acid decreases when I go back and measure TA on five year old wine. I am guessing that acid combines with alcohol producing esters over time. So to have a balanced ten year old wine you will need th start with high acid.

* the bottle needs the high oxygen barrier synthetic corks/ and in your case Dawg keep using them.
* the wine needs to run high on free SO2 when you bottle, target at least 50 ppm and possibly 75 ppm at bottling
* the white wine should have the maximum dosage of a low flavor tannin added. ,,, Another effect I see with black raspberry is that mine starts with “normal“ fruit taste > at 12 to 18 months it is obviously astringent/ which I guess to be small size tannins complexing into larger flavored tannins > the tannins continue complexing into larger non-flavored tannins/ ie mom’s twenty year old raspberry didn’t have astringent flavors.
* there is some work at AWRI with oxygen scavengers built into screw metal caps, ,,, or the nitrogen flushing, ,,, or vacuum corking > with the goal of reducing the normal bottle shock/ oxidation when the wine is bottled

 

[winemaker81]

I had an Apple-Riesling fun kit, that I chaptalized to 11% ABV, last 7 years when the last bottles were consumed. It would have gone longer.

Given that your wines are high octane, high sugar I'd expect that with a good SO2 dosage, you can get 10 years out of them. When in the carboy, put a cover on them to keep out light (if they are kept in the dark, that's a bonus).

 

[ChuckD]

When in the carboy, put a cover on them to keep out light (if they are kept in the dark, that's a bonus).

Are you saying we should cover the carboy even if it’s in a cellar? How much light is enough to cause problems? Mine are in an underground cellar where it is pitch black.

 

[winemaker81]

Sunlight is bad for wine. A friend left 2 carboy of whites for 2 years. Kept the airlocks full and treated with k-meta, but both oxidized. They got morning sun.

I have heavy curtains on the windows in my cellar, so it's dark-ish during the day. I do not have carboy covers, although I have used beach towels.

If I was bulk aging a white for years, I'd take extra preventative measures.

Next time my wife retires bed sheets (I leave such decisions in her capable hand) I will sew covers.

 

[VinesnBines]

Sunlight is bad for wine. A friend left 2 carboy of whites for 2 years. Kept the airlocks full and treated with k-meta, but both oxidized. They got morning sun.

I have heavy curtains on the windows in my cellar, so it's dark-ish during the day. I do not have carboy covers, although I have used beach towels.

If I was bulk aging a white for years, I'd take extra preventative measures.

Next time my wife retires bed sheets (I leave such decisions in her capable hand) I will sew covers.

I cover everything in clear glass; beer and wine, both white and red. For a carboy from three gallon up, I use a black trash bag; often with a slit in the bottom to fit over the airlock. For a one gallon jug, I use a small black bag like the ones I get at the ABC store. I'm not willing to let any light in at any stage in the process. I started this habit with beer.

As long as everything stays clean, the bags can be reused. Just be careful if you grab one for a trash bag.

 

[ChuckD]

Ok. Since the cellar is “cave” dark I won’t worry about it. I have a small LED light that may be on twice a week for five minutes. I sometimes get a mouse in the cellar and I worry that mice could climb up to the airlock if I put covers on them. They don’t seem to be able to climb glass.

 

[winemaker81]

Mice don't drink a lot at one sitting

 

[ChuckD]

Mice don't drink a lot at one sitting

I was actually worried they would chew on the bungs or the airlocks and break the seal.

 

[hounddawg]

my wine room is blacked out unless i am playing/tasting, i keep 1 wool saddle pad an 1 throw blanket over the single window, i keep all chemicals in airtight 30 cal/// 50 cal and 20mm ammo boxes when not in use, over kill but learnt at a young age, when only elderberry, dandelion and muscadine were made around here ,,, of course now-a-days berries and the fruit world has expanded by far,

 

[winemaker81]

I was actually worried they would chew on the bungs or the airlocks and break the seal.

I have no idea if mice would chew on the bungs. It never occurred to me that they would. I have had mice in the cellar a few times, but had no problems of that nature.

I make it a habit to check the wines every few days during bulk aging, just a quick view to make sure airlocks are full, bungs haven't popped, etc.

 

[Steve Wargo]

Brown paper grocery bags fit over carboys. I've used Trader Joe's and Kroger grocery bags with good luck.. Some are tighter fitting than others

 

[jswordy]

Brown paper grocery bags fit over carboys. I've used Trader Joe's and Kroger grocery bags with good luck.. Some are tighter fitting than others

I use laundry towels or beach towels.

On the question of fruit wines lasting over years, I had two bottles of Florida orange wine purchased by my parents as a touristy thing back in 1963. On opening, I found that the wine had turned to a sort of liqueur that was not disagreeable at all, even if the orange flavor had morphed to something "like orange."

I think whether country last a long time or not largely depends on the fruit, how high your sanitation practices are and the storage temperature. K-meta treated wines made in sanitary conditions and stored cool (50 F or slightly less) can last a very long time, again depending on the fruit. But it is a toss-up. I have some blueberry-second pressing muscadine blends that are going on 7 years old. whereas the pure muscadine wine made from the first pressing turned after 3 years. Fortunately, it was just about all gone by then.

I have some apple that I refrigerated in my farm shop fridge shortly after it was bottled, and it is now probably pushing 12 years. I spy it back there sometimes and wonder how it tastes, but have not tried it yet.

 

[winemaker81]

I have some blueberry-second pressing muscadine blends that are going on 7 years old. whereas the pure muscadine wine made from the first pressing turned after 3 years.

My first thought is the acid from the blueberries made the difference, as acid affects longevity. Probably so with the orange wine as well.

Sounds like a good time to pop a bottle of apple. While I wouldn't think it's a candidate for longevity, keeping it at 35-45 F may have made the difference.

 

[hounddawg]

well that pretty much answers what i was looking for,, i got 2 and a half cases of banana that i've spent 2 years on,, so odds are i will need to drink it in the next five years, I pulled out all the stops on it, allspice, cinnamon, white raisins, and some apples,, to bring it into balance, i could not bare the thought of it turing, so BOTTOMS UP,,, guess i'll tell my brother he'd better get with it, i gave him 5 and 1/2 cases, his is half like mine the other half has no allspice nor cinnamon, but other then that the same,,
Dawg