I have 550 bottles going back as much as 5 years and 100+ gal's bulk aging
going back as much as 3 years. Even with an inventory that large it is hard
to wait on each new batch. This is a tough hobby!

Just remember, age is a plus up to a certain point. Most wines do have an
optimal window of maturity beyond which they decline. For some that may be
18 months. For others it may be 18 years. No rule works universally and
that includes aging wines. Drink them when they are good. Don't wait for
them to go bad.

Ray

"Alfonse" > wrote in message
.. .
> Hi,
> It's definitely better to age wine as long as possible. What I did a few
> years ago when I was completely out of wine :-( (I moved and never got
> around to it), was to make one 6 week kit and bottled it according to the
> instructions for immediate consumption. The rest of my wine was allowed to
> bulk age for 1 year prior to drinking it. That way you have an OK wine to
> drink now and better wines to drink when that first batch is gone. I've
got
> a banana wine that is only 3 months old and the waiting part is definitely
> hard as I have never made it before and I am anxious to see how it tastes!
>
> Al
>
> "Tom" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Brandon,
> >
> > Things are progressing nicely, now comes the hard part. Follow this
> > exactly.. Place your carboy in a nice cool location away from light and
> > start a second kit.
> >
> > In about a month rack the first one wine off the lees that settled into
> > another carboy. Go ahead and add the Sorbate, sulphite and F-Pack that
> > came with your kit. Top with like wine or water, check your air lock
and
> > forget it for another 3 months. Start 3rd kit.
> >
> > Rack original kit one more time. Should be clear by now, if not check
you
> > levels and put it away. Don't tinker.....Check in another 30 days
> >
> > Time is a wines best friend from this point on.... You can bottle or
age
> > longer if you like. Get a few kits going and in different stages but
> manage
> > the same. Don't rush it. These wine in 30 days instructions are based
on
> > our increasing impatient society. I call it the FedEx effect (I need
it
> > now!!!) You wouldn't buy a wine that was made just 30 days ago so why
do
> > that to your own creations?
> >
> > Welcome to the hobby!
> >
> > Tom
> > "Brandon" > wrote in message
> > ...
> > > Everything has been progressing well, I think. I'm only on day 8 of
my
> > wine
> > > kit and have a few questions.
> > >
> > > The primary fermentation has been very steady, even after racking the
> > wine,
> > > which the kit instructions stated to do when the wine reached an SP of
> > > 1.010, which was today. The wine is still fermenting and should
> continue
> > > until the SP reaches about .996 or less, at which point I'm instructed
> to
> > > stabilize the wine and use the F-Pack.
> > >
> > > One thing I've been noticing is that the wine is becoming more cloudy,
> > more
> > > so then it was when I started and there was not much sediment when I
> > racked
> > > it, virtually none. Is this normal? I'm also concerned about a
little
> > foam
> > > (nice white foam) on top of the wine, which appeared about the fourth
> day
> > of
> > > fermentation. I think this started when I began stirring the wine,
> which
> > > was done from day 2 to 4, gentle stirring, nothing too serious, but
each
> > > time I expose the wine to air it seems to worsen..a little more foam.
> The
> > > foam is about 1/2 inch high. I've been very meticulous about cleaning
> > > everything that has come into contact with the wine in any way, but
I've
> > > read a few posts describing bacteria, although most all of them were
> > > referring to wine that had sat around awhile. Should I worry, or
could
> > this
> > > be CO2 or is it too early to tell?
> > >
> > > Day Specific Gravity Temp
> > > 1 1.080 76 F
> > > 2 Didn't Check 72 F
> > > 3 1.060 76 F
> > > 4 1.050 74 F
> > > 5 1.040 72 F
> > > 6 1.030 74 F
> > > 7 1.020 74 F
> > > 8 1.010 74 F (Racked)
> > >
> > > Brandon
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
>
>