re-corking a bottle of mead

Williams 728
Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
G

gforty

Member
Joined
Sep 22, 2013
Messages
9
Reaction score
1
Hello all,
new to mead. Been brewing beer for 3 years.
I made the JOAM back in October 2014. I made the mistake (I think) of bottling it in wine bottles with cork (750ml).
Is it advisable to remove the cork to pour a sample and then re-cork?
If I do this, have I just dropped the shelf life to weeks? If not, what do you think the shelf life would be after uncorking and re-corking?
Do I now need to refrigerate after opening?
Thanks for any advice.
Cheers.
 
I don't really know the definitive answer to your question, but here are my thoughts. When I bottled mead for gifts this past Xmas the knowledgable peeps at the LHBS asked me which corks I wanted. The better the cork the longer it can age. If you decide to get long lasting corks and recork your bottles I would get a can of wine saver nitrogen to flush the air out before recorking.
With that said, it may just be best to leave well enough alone, and dip those bottle tops in sealing wax and store them on their side like any other wine, but I'm no expert.
Let's see what the more experienced members have to say.
 
Last edited:
If the abv is 12% or more it should not go bad but the taste might change couse of the oxygen.
 
Just like when you open a bottle of wine with dinner, you can definitely save it- but the flavor changes dramatically after opening and pouring a glass and letting the wine sit for a few hours.

Mead is a bit less susceptible to oxidation, but it still will occur. You may want to drink the rest of the bottle in the next day at the longest.
 
Yooper said:
Just like when you open a bottle of wine with dinner, you can definitely save it- but the flavor changes dramatically after opening and pouring a glass and letting the wine sit for a few hours.

Mead is a bit less susceptible to oxidation, but it still will occur. You may want to drink the rest of the bottle in the next day at the longest.
Click to expand...

But is that really true for mead - that after a few hours (or a day or even a week) the changes in taste are in fact easily perceptible? I would love to know of any randomized blind taste test that showed that this was really the case. I have half bottles of fruit wines and meads I have made (left over after bottling) and even months later I could not say that the flavors were different , still less , damaged but then my palate is not well educated... or perhaps my wine making is so clunky that quality flavors are so few and far between that air leaves my meads and wines alone and only goes after real quality bottles...
 
bernardsmith said:
But is that really true for mead - that after a few hours (or a day or even a week) the changes in taste are in fact easily perceptible? I would love to know of any randomized blind taste test that showed that this was really the case. I have half bottles of fruit wines and meads I have made (left over after bottling) and even months later I could not say that the flavors were different , still less , damaged but then my palate is not well educated... or perhaps my wine making is so clunky that quality flavors are so few and far between that air leaves my meads and wines alone and only goes after real quality bottles...
Click to expand...

Yes, but if you don't notice a deterioration, then of course it's fine. I mean, if you're the one drinking it and don't notice some sherry-like flavors from oxidation or mind them at all, then there is no issue at all.

Usually, oxidation means some "dullness" in the flavor at first and sometimes it's not bad at all. Sometimes you may decant wines or meads just because the flavor is a bit sharp, and the wine can benefit. But usually, there is some loss of flavor. Like I said, it's only a bad thing if the person drinking it doesn't like it.
 
Yooper said:
Yes, but if you don't notice a deterioration, then of course it's fine. I mean, if you're the one drinking it and don't notice some sherry-like flavors from oxidation or mind them at all, then there is no issue at all.

Usually, oxidation means some "dullness" in the flavor at first and sometimes it's not bad at all. Sometimes you may decant wines or meads just because the flavor is a bit sharp, and the wine can benefit. But usually, there is some loss of flavor. Like I said, it's only a bad thing if the person drinking it doesn't like it.
Click to expand...

I understand but what you are reporting are the supposed facts.. My question is , is it simply my poor and uneducated taste that means that I cannot identify or recognize any change in most fruit wines or meads or are there good chemical reasons for such wines not to be damaged or changed by oxidation perhaps because all the oxidation that could take place has already taken place in the primary or during aging ...
 
bernardsmith said:
I understand but what you are reporting are the supposed facts.. My question is , is it simply my poor and uneducated taste that means that I cannot identify or recognize any change in most fruit wines or meads or are there good chemical reasons for such wines not to be damaged or changed by oxidation perhaps because all the oxidation that could take place has already taken place in the primary or during aging ...
Click to expand...

There are chemical changes immediately, and within as little as a half hour they are discernible (some good, maybe some bad) to a trained palate.
 
bernardsmith said:
I understand but what you are reporting are the supposed facts.. My question is , is it simply my poor and uneducated taste that means that I cannot identify or recognize any change in most fruit wines or meads or are there good chemical reasons for such wines not to be damaged or changed by oxidation perhaps because all the oxidation that could take place has already taken place in the primary or during aging ...
Click to expand...

Perhaps if you did a side by side tasting of "yesterday's" opened wine and a freshly opened bottle of the same, served at the same temp, you would notice.
What matters most, I suppose is simply if you enjoy it, like any wine. :tank: cheers
 
Thanks for all the feedback Fellas.

I think from now on I may bottle to 12oz capped bottles.
I like doing small batches (beer or mead) but I hate not being able to sample it as time, and the batch, progress.
Going to do 2 meads this weekend from this site. Grandmas apple pie and vanilla bean.
Salute.
 

Similar threads

K
Newbie on second brew with a few dumb questions!
Replies
16
Views
1K
SoCalPlumber
SoCalPlumber
Lollim96
Sealed transfer of sparkling wine to bottles advice needed please!
Replies
3
Views
565
Bobby_M
Bobby_M
superpig0
Mead Recipe Concern
Replies
2
Views
495
Dan O
Dan O
J
Beginner Mead Mistake?
Replies
8
Views
549
JamieDanger
J
honeybrewmead
Maturing mead
Replies
8
Views
1K
whattabrau
W

Latest posts

Back
Top