Bottle conditioning

[Sonesen]

Hey folks,

got a 14.5% wine that i'm ready to bottle.
Has a boozy taste, not yeasty or fizzy.
to my understand bottling and time will help that.
how long do you think? 6 month in 750ml bottles?

was a 6 gallon batch - Blood orange.

 

[Blacksmith1]

I have found that 3 to 6 months can make them very drinkable. More time makes them smoother. But strong is strong, don't expect it to ever taste like a wine cooler
At 14-15% it should be fine at the 6 month mark.

 

[Sonesen]

I have found that 3 to 6 months can make them very drinkable. More time makes them smoother. But strong is strong, don't expect it to ever taste like a wine cooler
At 14-15% it should be fine at the 6 month mark.

Thanks, this was helpful.

 

[Blacksmith1]

Just an fyi. I did a mango bochet (burnt mead) that was bitter and just horrid when it went in the bottle. It was started on 4/5/19 bottled on 8/24/19. So four months bulk aging. A month and a half or so in bottle. As I understand it the smaller the container the faster the aging. I opend a couple bottles today, almost 6 months to the day from start, and it's tasty, acidic, and smooth.

 

[hamiltonkiler]

I like a year. It doesn’t always happen but...