Almost everyone understands that wines need to age, but very few people realize just how important aging actually is to a wine. Aging is a process that is most often either underestimated or completely ignored by the home winemaker.
In reality, I would venture to say that aging a wine is just as important as the quality of the grapes used to produce the wine. If you’re missing either one, the wine will suffer noticeably.
Within the first 30 days of aging most people experience enough improvement in their wine’s flavor and bouquet to agree with this statement. The first 30 days is when a significant portion of the improvement happens. Continued aging will also reap additional benefits, and each additional month will provide marginal improvements.
As a frame of reference, the chart below displays the typical amount of aging that is expected by several of our homemade wine kits. They are listed by brand.
RECOMMENDED AGING TIMES:
|
Brand
|
Whites
|
Reds
|
| Niagara Mist |
0 to 12 Months
|
0 to 12 Months
|
| California Connoisseur |
1 to 18 Months
|
2 to 24 Months
|
| European Select |
1 to 18 Months
|
2 to 24 Months
|
| KenRidge Classic |
1 to 20 Months
|
2 to 28 Months
|
| KenRidge Classic IceVine |
1 to 20 Months
|
|
| KenRidge Classic Port & Sherry |
2 to 30 Months
|
|
| Cheeky Monkey |
1 to 20 Months
|
2 to 28 Months
|
| Legacy |
2 to 24 Months
|
2 to 30 Months
|
| Vinterra |
2 to 24 Months
|
2 to 30 Months
|
| KenRidge Showcase |
3 to 30 Months
|
3 to 36 Months
|
| KenRidge Founder’s Series |
3 to 30 Months
|
3 to 36 Months
|
The wines made from these homemade wine kits can either be aged in wine bottles, or they can be left to age in a wine carboy or similar. Either way is fine. You will notice improvements with either method of aging.
My personal preference is to age the wine in bottles with a traditional cork stoppers. If it is a white wine, I may consider using synthetic corks to better control the amount of oxygen that is being exchange passed the cork.
Happy Wine Making
Customer Service at E. C. Kraus
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Ed Kraus is a 3rd generation home brewer/winemaker and has been an owner of E. C. Kraus since 1999. He has been helping individuals make better wine and beer for over 25 years.
Aging wines with cork I see as very good to best. HOWEVER, Putting the 5 gal carboy on its side looks like it just isn’t going happen. is there another way to protect the cork from drying out?
Tom, there is no magical way to keep a cork moist. My suggestion would be to switch to a rubber stopper. Whatever you use be sure to wire it down with bailing wire or similar. Quite often the cork will be pushed out by pressure changes withing the carboy.