Many factors have to be taken into account in order to have a good and characteristic
wine. The most important one, the one that determines the taste and the freshness of
the product, is knowing when to bottle wine.
Therefore, it is fundamental to know the best times of the year to bottle wine,
which, following the tradition, should follow the lunar phases.
In this article, we will illustrate the right bottling month for each type of wine, each of
them having its own lunar phase.
Tasting a wine means appreciating its qualities from the grape ripened in the
summer sun to the art of bottling it. Wine boasts a history of its own that starts with
the harvest in September each year, and passes through intermediate stages such as
fermentation, pressing and storage, until it is bottled. The last one is the most delicate
phase that follows a characteristic tradition and timing.
The moon and the wine bottling: the tradition
When to bottle wine? According to tradition, wine bottling follows the phases of
the moon. A first distinction made for wines is based on the bottling of young wines
and wines aged more than two years.
The lunar calendar subsequent to the summer of the harvest is observed for the
bottling of young wines. Generally, March is the best month for bottling new wine
while September is the best for aged wine, thought for the latter the racking can be
done in a more versatile way and therefore in any month of the year.
Each type of young wine must be bottled in March, be it white, red, sparkling or
prosecco, and the lunar phases must be taken into consideration.
Every month of the year has four phases:
New moon: better not bottle any wine
Rising moon (first quarter): time to bottle sparkling wines
Full moon: all types of wine can be bottled, such as red, white and rosé wines
Waning moon (last quarter): time to bottle aged and sweet wines
Once we have established the lunar phase associated with our wine, we can move on
to decanting it into bottles.
The 2022 calendar for bottling wine
Accordingly, following the phases of the moon, the 2022 wine bottling calendar has
specific dates for each month of the year, from January to December.
Again according to tradition, it is advisable to bottle the wine on a favourable day as
long as it is sunny and not windy. Here are the ideal days of each month associated
with the desired type of wine.
When to bottle sparkling wine and prosecco
The lunar phase associated with the bottling of sparkling wines and prosecco is the
first quarter or crescent moon, which falls on these dates:
January 2022: from the 9 th to the 17 th of January
February 2022: from the 8 th to the 15 th of February
March 2022: from the 10 th to the 17 th of March
April 2022: from the 12 th to the 19 th of April
May 2022: from the 9 th to the 15 th of May
June 2022: from the 9 th to the 15 th of June
July 2022: from the 7 th to the 12 th of July
August 2022: from the 5 th to the 11 th of August
September 2022: from the 3 rd to the 9 th of September
October 2022: from the 3 rd to the 8 th of October
November 2022: from the 1 st to the 7 th of November
December 2022: until the 7 th of December
When to bottle red wine
The lunar phase associated with the bottling of red wine is the full moon, which is
also recommended for white and rosé wines. The dates are as follows:
January 2022: from the 17 th to the 24 th of January
February 2022: from the 16 th to the 22 nd of February
March 2022: from the 18 th to the 24 th of March
April 2022: from the 16 th to the 22 nd of April
May 2022: from the 16 th to the 21 st of May
June 2022: from the 14 th to the 20 th of June
July 2022: from the 13 th to the 19 th of July
August 2022: from the 12 th to the 18 th of August
September 2022: from the 10 th to the 16 th of September
October 2022: from the 9 th to the 16 th of October
November 2022: from the 8 th to the 15 th of November
December 2022: from the 8 th to the 15 th of December
