What's The Expiration Date On Home Brew Wine Kits
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pumpkinman2012
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This was taken from the Wine Expert website:
Winexpert doesn't publish an expiration date for our wine kits, since they don't 'expire,' as such. Our guideline is for users to make their kits in a time period 12-18 months from the packing day, depending on the conditions under which the kit has been stored during that time. Because of their higher brix and acid content, smaller-volume kits (under 15 litres) tend to have a longer shelf-life, while larger-volume (15 litres and over) last for a bit shorter timespan.
It's important to note that the kits don't suddenly stop being viable. They may have oxidised a bit, if storage conditions were not optimal, and this could result in some loss of fruit character or aromatics. But on the whole, they still turn out quite well. In fact, without a side-by-side comparison with fresher kits, most people simply don't notice a difference.
So basically while they say that they don't expire, the suggest that you use them within a certain time frame, that sounds a lot like an expiration date..lol
From the RJ Spagnols website:
Q. What is the shelf life of the kit? How do I know how old it is?
A. On the label that says the type of wine you have is a date code, this is the day the kit was manufactured. The code is simple, YYYYMMDD, so a kit that has 20070214 was made on February 14, 2007. If they are stored correctly 4 week kits will last 18 months, 6 week kits will last 12 months. After that the quality will begin to decline, the juice oxidizes just like wine does.
Winexpert doesn't publish an expiration date for our wine kits, since they don't 'expire,' as such. Our guideline is for users to make their kits in a time period 12-18 months from the packing day, depending on the conditions under which the kit has been stored during that time. Because of their higher brix and acid content, smaller-volume kits (under 15 litres) tend to have a longer shelf-life, while larger-volume (15 litres and over) last for a bit shorter timespan.
It's important to note that the kits don't suddenly stop being viable. They may have oxidised a bit, if storage conditions were not optimal, and this could result in some loss of fruit character or aromatics. But on the whole, they still turn out quite well. In fact, without a side-by-side comparison with fresher kits, most people simply don't notice a difference.
So basically while they say that they don't expire, the suggest that you use them within a certain time frame, that sounds a lot like an expiration date..lol
From the RJ Spagnols website:
Q. What is the shelf life of the kit? How do I know how old it is?
A. On the label that says the type of wine you have is a date code, this is the day the kit was manufactured. The code is simple, YYYYMMDD, so a kit that has 20070214 was made on February 14, 2007. If they are stored correctly 4 week kits will last 18 months, 6 week kits will last 12 months. After that the quality will begin to decline, the juice oxidizes just like wine does.
Heavywalker
Well-Known Member
A few months ago I grabbed a zin kit from a LHBS that was having a clearance sale, for half price. The kit was made in December of 2012. I was a little apprehensive but couldn't pass up on a half priced Winery series kit so went for it. The juice seemed to be okay and the grape packs were good too. I just threw away the yeast that game in the kit and used some fresh yeast. So far it seems to be okay, but I guess I will see in a year and a half how it turns out.
Heavywalker
Well-Known Member
The amount of time a wine will store depends a lot more on the cork you use, storage conditions, and the type of wine, than the age of the juice.
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