wine age?

[Innkeeper]

Hi Grant, and welcome to the Wine Board. I think you are asking how old a wine should be before you drink it. The overwhelming percentage of wine produced in the world is ready to drink upon release, and a lot of it you should. This includes almost all dry whites, and the lighter reds such as Beaujolais. Much of the rest, can be consumed immediately, but will do better if you rack it up for a few years. A small percentage of wines such as your Grange Hermitage, the top Bordeaux Growths, and some of the big bangers from the Upper Rhone, Piedmont, and Tuscany need to be aged for perhaps decades.

How do you know? One way is simply to be familiar with the characteristics of the wine you are buying via experiance, study, or reference. Price plays a role, but not an ironclad one. I would not think of buying a wine that cost more than $20 that I didn't think would improve with age. Finally, find your own way with a wine or a family of wines. Buy one, drink it, and decide whether or not it will improve with age. Next time you buy one drink it or store it accordingly.

Your Wolf Blass Shiraz should be drinkable now, but will probably continue to mature for four or five years.

[This message has been edited by Innkeeper (edited 04-07-2001).]