Apple wine storage time and ageing.

[CanadianBacon]

I fermented some apple wine at about 14 % for 1 year. Bottled it 3 months ago. Just wondering how long this will keep and how longs should I age for. I was considering bottle ageing for 1 more year. That would mean 2 years all together, Is this to long?

 

[Yooper]

I fermented some apple wine at about 14 % for 1 year. Bottled it 3 months ago. Just wondering how long this will keep and how longs should I age for. I was considering bottle ageing for 1 more year. That would mean 2 years all together, Is this to long?

It may be ok, but maybe not. It really depends on things like if tannin was added, and of course sulfites.

Apple wine tends to peak after a year or two, but I have some still in the carboy from last year and it's not bottled yet. I wouldn't age it terribly long, but two years is probably ok if it was properly made and sulfited.

 

[bford]

I'm guessing results are the same for Apfelwein?

 

[CanadianBacon]

It may be ok, but maybe not. It really depends on things like if tannin was added, and of course sulfites.

Apple wine tends to peak after a year or two, but I have some still in the carboy from last year and it's not bottled yet. I wouldn't age it terribly long, but two years is probably ok if it was properly made and sulfited.

it was not sulfited

 

[Yooper]

I'm guessing results are the same for Apfelwein?

I think afpelwein is a strong-ish cider, but no where near the alcohol content of wine, so I would say it wouldn't age well for a long term aging but for a year or two, certainly.

it was not sulfited

Then I would not expect it to age well at all, and drink it sooner rather than later.

 

[siletzspey]

In my 9-14% apple wine, the taste substantially improved between 6 and 12 months, but beyond 12 months my wife and I haven't noticed much further improvement. My first ever apple batch, from fall 2012 (2+ years), still tastes good, despite being unsulfited, but the unsulfited berry and plum wines from fall 2012 have started to oxidize and degrade.

--SiletzSpey

 

[gratus fermentatio]

I've bulk aged apfelwein & graff for over 1 year & then bottled; No problem other than the Goldings hops flavour & aroma fading from the graff, bittering was still good though. Both carbed up just fine. The apfelwein was much more appley than it was at 3 months. Only took about 4 months to drink it all, so that would've been roughly 17 or 18 months; 14 in bulk & 3 or 4 in the bottle. It all went down VERY smoothly.
Regards, GF.

 

[CanadianBacon]

I think afpelwein is a strong-ish cider, but no where near the alcohol content of wine, so I would say it wouldn't age well for a long term aging but for a year or two, certainly.



Then I would not expect it to age well at all, and drink it sooner rather than later.

Sounds Good, I had 3 bottles last week and it was nice and mellow, No heartburn and tastes sweet and like apple. Best wine I have made.

 

[WVMJ]

What was the source of the apple juice, did you guys press it yourselves or was it some ultrafiltered store bought juice? WVMJ

 

[siletzspey]

... did you guys press it yourselves ...

All mine is pressed apples off the property, and no doubt some worms too.

A thought... with just 2-3 months of aging, my wife and I often say "it's good, it's already better than some of the commercial stuff". If all we did was age to 3 months and drank, we'd be happy campers. But since we have aged to 12-18 months, we now know the cider will get far better, which means we no longer hold the 3 months stuff in high regard. If you're not aging your cider, you might not realize how good a brewer you are!

--SiletzSpey

 

[gratus fermentatio]

Store-bought apple juice.
Regards, GF.