How long ahould we be storing our red kit wines for?

[Vinotinto]

As the title says -

As I am running short on rouge quaffing material I have had to venture into the part of my garage reserved for those efforts that I hoped to save for a while at least.

Pulled out a CC nebbiolo only 3 months old. Mmmm significantly better than at first. Went to the early end of my efforts since resuming the hobby and found a couple of BD Pinot Noir at almost 9 months.

Got me thinking. We get the £5/6 ish ( less on offer) splosh at the supermercado and it often recommends to drink within a year. How long has that actually been in the bottle prior to that Recommendation? Etc etc.

I now have no doubt that the mid to upper range 30 bottle red kits are better ( maybe not far better ) when left for a few months. They are also very quaffable when bottled. Will they be much better though if left for 12 months + and more ?. Time will tell in my case but experiences appreciated from you guys. I appreciate also that we may stray into the realms of other preservatives IF intending to store longer than 12 months but was just interested.

 

[pvt_ak]

Far too young into my wine crafting career to add value to this / my
oldest wine being 8 months and aiming for a Xmas opening.

In my limited experience I’ve found country wines better left to age 6 months plus .... wow’s on the hand drink early. I’ve not done a kit red yet, or any wine kit as it happens. I have a thing about not making kits !


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[needmorstuf]

i just did my 1st red, a beaverdale 30 bottle nnebbiolo, notably better after 3 weeks. But I shared with
my bro in law and made some port out of it also (still spirits essence) so its all gone now.

I am going to keep a constant 30 bottle kit on the go so i can build up reserves and store for the long term

 

[simon12]

I did 1 cheap wilko cab sav and it was horrible until it was 3 months old, I have also done a few beaverdale reds and they do keep getting better for at least a year.

 

[GDog]

I had a conversation on here with someone recently who was drinking a 12 month+ old Beaverdale red, and he said although it changes, it was best at 3 months old, and wasn't noticeably better now (no worse though).

I've kinda stopped worrying about it, after 3 months any changes will be marginal for the uneducated (me) - so if I like it, I'll drink most of it, and save 3-4 bottles to try much later.

The only one I've found to be amazing immediately (well, 3-4 weeks) was beaverdale pinot Noir, but I'd already read a review that it is best drunk young.

 

[needmorstuf]

I had a conversation on here with someone recently who was drinking a 12 month+ old Beaverdale red, and he said although it changes, it was best at 3 months old, and wasn't noticeably better now (no worse though).

I've kinda stopped worrying about it, after 3 months any changes will be marginal for the uneducated (me) - so if I like it, I'll drink most of it, and save 3-4 bottles to try much later.

The only one I've found to be amazing immediately (well, 3-4 weeks) was beaverdale pinot Noir, but I'd already read a review that it is best drunk young.

I will get that one next

 

[simon12]

Well from this, my limited experience and reading other posts it looks like under 3 months is to young (with exceptions as Gdog said) after that it ages which is a slow process and will benefit some wines more that others. Note i'm only talking red no idea about anything else.

 

[GDog]

I will get that one next

its my favourite so far, but haven't done loads.. CC Rioja is possibly better, but I only made a small kit so have bought a 30 bottler to try properly.

These are all great

Cal Conn:
Rojo Tinto

Beaverdale:
Nebbiolo
Shiraz
Pinot Noir

 

[richytrue]

GDog and I shared the Nebbiolo and it was very nice - I'd also add the CC and Beaverdale Cab Savs as worth a sniff as well.

 

[engineer]

I aim to store for 6 months and drink within a year. The reason for this is lack of ability to control storage temperature. I used to store in the garage but the temp fluctuations caused a KC nebbiolo to go downhill after a year so i now limit storage to that time frame.

 

[Applesnmore]

I wish I could offer some science on the subject, but alas not.
The guy at my local HBS recons basic kits are at their best at 3 months, and don't improve beyond.
In my limited experience I have found that to be true.
Equally I bought some €6 wine in Auchan - Les Grappes du Paradis 2010 at Easter 2015. Was great. Kept 2 bottles back til Christmas and they were terrible.
Equally I made a cc shiraz last year and I really liked it young. As it's matured, it has lost a lot of the fruity notes I liked.
So, my take home message was, aging changes the wine. If it tastes good young, drink it. Hold a couple back and see what like when there older. If it's harsh, keep and let it mellow.


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[Vinotinto]

I wish I could offer some science on the subject, but alas not.
The guy at my local HBS recons basic kits are at their best at 3 months, and don't improve beyond.
In my limited experience I have found that to be true.
Equally I bought some €6 wine in Auchan - Les Grappes du Paradis 2010 at Easter 2015. Was great. Kept 2 bottles back til Christmas and they were terrible.
Equally I made a cc shiraz last year and I really liked it young. As it's matured, it has lost a lot of the fruity notes I liked.
So, my take home message was, aging changes the wine. If it tastes good young, drink it. Hold a couple back and see what like when there older. If it's harsh, keep and let it mellow.


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Makes a lot of sense.

 

[jojorose]

I also am looking into aging. Not just for kits. I used to make wine twenty years ago and then started again this year. Back then you could get kits and they were supposedly drinkable quite quickly. Im currently drinking a Black Cherry Wine Kit and its like cheap spanish at the moment so have put the other bottles on hold for a couple more months.

What puzzles me is my home brew used to have to sit for at least a year, but i just took a plum wine recipe and it says you can drink as soon as its cleared????

 

[Fin420]

If it's a red and reads drinks within a year, it's probably been conditioning for at least 2/3 before it was bottled.

In the winery where I work we condition whites for one year before bottling, reds/roses for 2/3 years, and kinda the same we don't recommend they are kept for decades because they weren't designed as a 'great' wine.

 

[Dexter101]

First proper post! As a homebrewing newbie I can't offer any guidance on kits.

However from my knowledge of wine in general, its not so much how the wine is made but also the type of wine it is that will affect when its best to drink. I remember seeing graphs of different wine types and when they are good to drink. Some take a very long time to get to their "best" and then drop off a cliff, others are very quick to reach their best but then take a good few more years until they are past their best. Traditionally french Bordeaux wines that you see going for crazy money, age well due to the type of wine it is and develop or adapt flavours that suit what the drinker wants. A fresh white wine won't age well because you want freshness as after a few more years, that has mellowed. If you can store the wine in a stable environment, my best guess would be to compare it to a bottle of commercial wine of the same type and see what ages that is on the shelves. For example, its easy to find a bottle of Rioja on most supermarket shelves at the moment from 2012. Most white wines on the shelves will probably be 2016.

Not sure if that's any use but i am looking forward to keeping bottles back from batches to see how well they age!