Input please on the guide on to when to drink my wine

[NorCal]

I'm making a barrel of wine (Zin) for family, some that have helped with the winemaking tasks. Most family members are $5-$10 wine drinkers. The wine is in a brand new 60 gallon American oak barrel, 25 brix, 3.5 ph wine. Nothing real big, but definitely has some oak and tannin, that could use some times to integrate.

I want to create a sheet to put in their cases of wine, as a reminder to not have high expectations when they bring their case of wine home and to educate them on the benefit of aging wine. Hopefully the graphic isn't too small for you to read. Thoughts?

 

[Boatboy24]

How old will this wine be when you bottle it? A 2015 vintage?

 

[ibglowin]

I find it takes 2 years minimum to be good to go. YMMV

 

[NorCal]

How old will this wine be when you bottle it? A 2015 vintage?

It will be 11 months in the barrel.

 

[DoctorCAD]

It will be 11 months in the barrel.

I'd say you could shift the dates a bit to the left since the wine will be a year old at bottling.

I'd move the 1 year to 6 months etc.

 

[Busabill]

I think this is a great way to educate those who are used to just buying a bottle of wine off the shelf that is already two or three years into aging. I think since it's a new Barrel and the wine is fairly oaky as a result, these dates look good to me. I had my Zinfandel on French Oak for 3 months and then changed it to American Oak staves one month ago and I can already taste the additional Oak and tannins in it. It will also need to sit and mellow for a while. I may run with this idea! Cheers Norcal!

 

[bkisel]

I know you can look at this as if you were giving a person a plant of some kind that won't be fully enjoyed until it is fully grown, but...

Personally I would hold back gifting the wine until you feel it is good enough to truly enjoy at the time of gifting. When it is you could mention, upon gifting, that the wine is nice now but will likely improve if set aside for a longer period of time.

 

[Busabill]

Bkisel, maybe he is concerned that he will drink it if it's not given away! LOL

 

[NorCal]

I know you can look at this as if you were giving a person a plant of some kind that won't be fully enjoyed until it is fully grown, but...

Personally I would hold back gifting the wine until you feel it is good enough to truly enjoy at the time of gifting. When it is you could mention, upon gifting, that the wine is nice now but will likely improve if set aside for a longer period of time.

I agree, I simply do not have space to store 25 cases of wine for a year or more.

 

[Boatboy24]

I know you can look at this as if you were giving a person a plant of some kind that won't be fully enjoyed until it is fully grown, but...

Personally I would hold back gifting the wine until you feel it is good enough to truly enjoy at the time of gifting. When it is you could mention, upon gifting, that the wine is nice now but will likely improve if set aside for a longer period of time.

I agree - mostly. I don't give wine to anyone until it is 'ready'. However, 'ready' and 'optimal' are not the same thing, IMHO. If I can afford to lose the stash, I'll give someone two bottles and tell them that one can be enjoyed now, but please stash the second and try in another 6-12 months.

I've found most people just don't wait though.

 

[Treeman]

When I've gifted commercial bordeaux to newbies, I've put a small sticker on the capsule with a "open in 20xx" date. You might get better compliance that way and if you stagger the dates within the case they might follow the drink 1-2 per year.

Also not a bad idea to tell them to hide it away in a cool dark basement space. Nothing like sitting on the dining room wine rack at 70-80 F for a few years to throw off the aging process.