Basics Wine: Maturing Lesser Wines at Home
Young red wine is the best type to enhance the flavor of by adding to the maturation/fermenting process at home. It can be bought in bulk quantities inexpensively and you will be rewarded for your efforts with a much better and more expensive tasting wine.
Maturing your homemade basics wine is really an easy task, the main additive ingredient being your time and a watchful eye and pallet. You normally need to mature wine in a wooden cask or barrel but other containers like glass and most food grade plastics will work fine for your homemade cask. Make sure the vessel used is disinfected and then sterilized thoroughly as bacteria is not friend to wine.
Once you have prepared the containers be ready to pour in the wine and seal the containers immediately leaving no air gap in the neck of the container by topping it off. Air left in the container has a negative effect on the fermenting process.
Have a cool, dark area ready to store your casks undisturbed. And undisturbed means no movement for the next three to six months depending on our thirst and desire for better basics wine. After tasting it at the end of the first maturing interval you made decide to leave it for another several month long period to further enhance its taste and aroma.