Aging Wines

[iman]

Hi, i've been drinking wine for some time, and the idea of saving a full bottle of wine to have years from now has always appealed to me. However someone told me that I needed favorable conditions in order for the wine not to go bad, and that not all wines can be aged. Is that true? Do the wines I'd buy in a liquor store have addictives added to them, so they don't loose taste?

[Drew]

iman, welcome. Go four posts down entitled "What to lay down"...the answer to your question is there.

Drew

[Innkeeper]

The one part of your question not covered in the posting Drew referred you to is the part about "addictives" being added to the wine. No kind of substance is added to wine to make them age worthy. What a wine needs as a result of grape quality and winemaking expertise is substance resulting from concentration and alcohol level, ample tannin coming from contact with grape skins, and acid which occurs naturally in the grapes. These things work on each other naturally to improve the quality of the wine with age.

[Thomas]

I don't know IK, the concept of addictives sounds appealing; keeps 'em comin' back for more!