Wine Age?

[Innkeeper]

Upwards of 90% of the wine made in the world is made to be consumed upon release. Very few that should be given some age are white. Wine needs to have at least on two things to age well, tannin and/or sugar.

Very few white wines contain tannin, since it comes from skins and seeds which are usually immediately removed from white wine. One of the exceptions is a handful of White Burgundys from the Cote d'Or. The other category is sweet white wine, which represents a fraction of the sea of white wine. These include the heavier grades of German Riesling, the Sauternes of Bordeaux, and white dessert wines from other places that can, but don't have to be aged. The other 99% of white wine in the world is short lived. It is almost impossible to get White Italian wine over to the States before it starts fading. For this reason it is rarely a good idea to buy a white wine from a clearance basket in a liquor store. There are exceptions too lengthly to list, but these are general guidelines.

Red wine is another story. All red wine has some tannin in it. The general rule of thumb is you go by amount of body or weight. The lighter reds such as Beaujolais, Bardolino, dolcetto, and others rarely have much aging potential. Heavier wines such as cabernet, merlot, syrah, zinfandel that are in balance (acid, alcohol, tannin, etc) could have aging potential. You will frequently see on a bottle this message from the producer: "Drink it now, or let it rest for a few years." When you see this, always let it rest awhile. If all this is getting you confused, don't be surprised. The best teacher is experiance. The more you read, either here on the Board, elsewhere on the net, or best bet a good book, the more guidelines you will pick up. The best source of experiance is in the glass. The more wine you try the more experiance you will gain.

Before you even think about aging wine, be sure you have proper storage facilities. It must be dark, have temps that don't go much about 70 degrees F, or much below 40 degrees F ever. Humidity must be high too, because low humidity dries out the corks. If you don't have these conditions, and/or can't afford to buy such facilities, forget about aging wine.

[This message has been edited by Innkeeper (edited 11-25-2001).]