Christian is leaving for Saffron Waldren this week to become 'Artist in Residence' at a Quaker Boarding School, so Julia cooked a 'Goodbye and Good Luck' Feast for eight. This bottle of Blackcurrant was the first of far too many drunk, and it really is one of my best.
The food was grand and the company convivial. Towards the end of the night Julia and I disappeared into her cellar and came back up clutching bottles labelled 'Pear 93', 'Raspberry 92' and 'Gooseberry 76'. I have never drunk a bottle of wine comfortably into its mid-thirties. It had matured into a dry sherry and there was no hint of its original fruit. The Raspberry was non-descript, and I am pleased to report that the Pear was nasty.
Hi Ben, so how long can you leave home-made wine before opening the bottle? I have to admit to not waiting very long before I've opened mine - perhaps that's because I'm new to wine-making and can't wait to taste the results!
ReplyDeleteWell, 1976 is the longest I have come across - I was six when that was made. I rarely leave mine any more than 2 years - they are mostly drunk by then. I generally try to wait 6 months from bottling, but am not often successful. It's a lack of self control or moral fibre.
ReplyDelete2 years? no way! I'm making wine now in the hope I can drink it at Christmas...........and even that is going to take a lot of self control! What's the next wine you're making? I'll be starting on the elderberry soon.
ReplyDeleteElderberry is on my list of jobs for Monday. So, watch this space. I'm not absolutely sure I'll get enough ripe ones - in which case, I'll have to freeze what I do pick, and finish it in late September. Best of luck with yours. And elderberry really is one worth keeping for as long as you can bear.
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