Yes. I would pour it in.

Alcohol is toxic to composting microorganisms. I'm sure this homemade wine is not very high in alcohol concentration, so it probably wouldn't kill the composting process stone dead; on the other hand, it wouldn't offer any benefit to a compost pile either. I'd dispose of it properly down the drain.

I assume this wine is no good to drink? If you haven't tried it, maybe you should.

As a winemaker, there's no guarantee what the alcohol level is. It could be just as high as store-bought (12-13% for dry red).

It's certainly compostable but it's all about the amount so you don't kill the pile. I would think a couple bottles at a time in a cubic yard pile, spaced a couple weeks apart, would be fine. If you have a fresh fall leaf pile, it can probably handle more as the leaves would be quite dry.

You can also pour it around trees and shrubs and it will soak into the soil and be absorbed by the soil food web.

If I was close to you I might even take it off your hands to make some brandy...but we won't talk about that here. ;-)

Homemade wine usually has a much higher alcohol content than store bought in my experience.

Thanks to you all for your comments. This wine is vintage 1994-1996 made with a variety of fruits including grapes and a various wild fruits. I think the fellow that made it was on a wine kick and then moved on to something else. I think I will do as toxcusadr has suggested and pour it around some trees.

If you open it and it has gone off and turned to vinegar (this will be evident from the smell) then it will be even more toxic than alcohol. Definitely do not apply it to any plants in that case. I would dispose of it properly down a household drain.

Whether to pour wine down the kitchen sink drain depends on whether you have a septic tank or are on a municipal waste system. Alcohol can kill bacteria so it may slow the process in your septic system and might result in an expensive clean out (it is $225.00 every time).

On a municipal sewage system? They also depend on bacteria to digest the solids in that waste and the small amounts of antibacterials in soaps are creating problems in these systems. So it is probably not a good idea to pour any alcohol down any waste drain.

Since alcohol can kill bacteria pouring it onto a compost pile may not be a good idea either, depending on the amount at any one time. If the soil is a good healthy soil with an active Soil Food Web, that may not be a good place either.

Alcohol will dissipate over time so maybe a good place for it would be a large, shallow pan were it could evaporate.

kimmq is kimmsr

A municipal sewage system takes thousands or even millions of gallons a day of waste, and that tiny amount of alcohol and vinegar is going to be diluted by an enormous amount of water and other waste. If you were discharging a 10,000 gallon tank, I'd call the sewage plant first, but 3 cases, forget about it. Note, if it's gone 'off' it's because there are bacteria living IN the bottle, so the idea that it will kill everything in site is a little much.

Septic tanks, different story, and thanks for mentioning that kimmsr. Those of us on public sewers often overlook that.

I hadn't thought about vinegar affecting plants though, so be cautious if applying to the ground.

Three dozen bottles of wine is less than thirty litres. A septic tank would likely be 500-1000 gallons, or 50-100 times the volume. It's unlikely either alcohol or vinegar in the concentrations in a home made wine would do anything at all to a septic system - just by numbers the concentrations are too low. And if it could, then that stuff would be a biohazard. It would b fine in any functioning septic system. Me, I'd probably just pour it out around the yard, maybe some on the compost and lead piles, avoiding any sensitive plants. But not for fear of the septic system.

The wine is now safely spread around the woods surrounding the house. If I see the trees swaying on a windless day I will know why! Hopefully the subterranean life is enjoying a drink with dinner.

My only comment is to say that theparsley's reply about space has me snickering.... pure gold right there.

Word.

Off topic, but I just want to comment on the "down the drain" comments. Our municipal systems are very overloaded with toxic liquids that are poured or flushed into the wastewater systems. On an accumulated basis....pesticides, pharmaceuticals, alcohols, detergents, and the like all stress the capabilities of our wastewater treatment plants.

That's why we are finding traces of stuff in the finished product......in our drinking water.

It's in all of our best interests to think seriously about what we contribute to the soup.

I'd sample it first, and if it's not drinkable, dump it onto the heap.

There are organisms in there that can use alcohol as an energy source, and if they are sweet wines the sugar would be used too.

My SO's daughter regularly gets rid of failed beer experiments in her compost heap.

Well said rhizo, I totally agree (as an env. specialist working in the haz waste field). If we were talking about something not fully biodegradable (such as many of the things you listed) I would certainly make other recommendations. Unfortunately it's a lot to expect the average person to know the difference. At least some of them ask questions, which is the way to go. If it's something your household haz waste dropoff will take, that's a sign not to pour it down the drain.

Mainly if we would all use about half the detergents and other household chemicals we pour onto every cleaning job, we'd all be better off. Case in point: yesterday we were finishing up outdoor chores around our shop building and putting the hoses away. I noticed a LOT of algae growing on the north wall by one of the windows. Did I go get a wagon full of cleaning products? No, I had a rag with me, so I rubbed it off while washing it down with the hose. Gone. No detergents. Same with the windows - cleaned first with just water and a rag to get the worst of the dirt off, then a brief squirt of cleaner, final wipe and water rinse. Hardly used any detergent. Water is your friend when cleaning.

wouldn't most the alcohol evaporate before causing too much damage to anything?

I would set up some lawn chairs around a bird bath, pour the wine into the bird bath, and watch the hilarity ensue as the birds drink it up. Birds love fermented fruit to get their buzz on. Most of them get very chatty once they've had a few shots.

That's it..... I think we need to form a board to decide if we need a committee to be formed so we can decide on what should happen to this wine. First topic... who's going to approach NASA ?

I believe the actual wine has been disposed of, and we are now onto theoretical wine, and how much of it can dance on the head of a pin. Or something.

I wish to state for the record that I am in favor of getting birds drink and laughing at them.

I can write the grant application so we can get funding to study this. It will, of course, involve organoleptic sampling of the wine before testing its effects on the composting process.

And once again, it all ends up with pee.

Been awhile since I heard 'organoleptic'! For the unwashed, it means 'evaluating using the senses'. If we drink it out of beakers it will seem more scientific.

Oh theparsley, not AGAIN?!

All threads eventually return to the pee.

It's the circle of compost!

I would compost it. Alcohol is mostly sugar anyway. Let the micro herd get drunk.