WINE MYTH BUSTED:
THE
TRUTH ABOUT AGING WINE
MYTH #1:
Aging wine makes it better.
ASSUMPTION:
Older wine tastes better than younger wine.
ORIGIN:
Historical - Ancient Roman
and Greek texts praise aged wine as superior
to newly fermented. Even in the New Testament
of the Bible, Luke makes a reference to
preferring old wine; "No man..,, having
drunk old wine, straightaway desireth new;
for he saith, the old is better."
Modern - The winemaking
practices of the Old world traditionally
created wines that were often harsh upfront
and required aging to balance out and become
enjoyable.
REALITY
Actually 90% of all wines produced today
are made to drink immediately; most within
1 to 2 years. This trend has been largely
influenced by our American need for instant
gratification and our desire for big bold
flavors. You’ll notice that when a
new bottle of wine is released that its
vintage date, or the date that the grapes
were originally picked, is already several
years old. This is due to the fact that
wines are distributed to the public when
the producers have determined that they
are ready for consumption. When wine first
gets bottled there is some time necessary
for the wine to settle down and become drinkable.
So, in a way, much of the necessary aging
has already occurred because wine purchased
today already has a few years under its
cork in order to make sure that it will
be enjoyable to drink. It is true that wines
change in the bottle over time, but from
the point you first purchase a bottle of
wine it is completely up to you, and your
own personal preferences, if the changes
that occur by aging it are good or bad.
ORIGINS EXPANDED
The belief that older wine is better than
young has plagued the wine industry for
decades and is based on an outdated understanding
about wine preferences. For centuries “old
world” wines, largely defined as the
European continent including France, Italy
and Spain, were considered to be the best
wines in the world, especially those from
France. Since then French wine has been
used as the defacto standard by many as
representing everything good about wine
and what winemakers should strive to achieve.
This old world style can best be described
as producing subtle wines with more mellow
fruit flavors. In fact, wine is purposely
made this way in France, and other European
countries, because their pallets are more
suited to subtle flavors. They also put
a much higher importance on drinking wine
with food, so they prefer mellower wines
that do not compete with the food.
“Old World” wines are very different
than those made in the “New World”,
which includes Washington and the rest of
the United States. In America we have a
pallet that is geared more toward bigger
bolder flavors. An example would be our
general preference toward the big bold Cabernets
out of Napa Valley and California. Also,
for many of us wine isn’t something
that should only be consumed in the presence
of food. Instead, many Americans, us included,
often drink wine because we enjoy the wine
itself and don’t need food to enhance
this enjoyment. (Food is such a buzz kill
anyway!) So, again, it comes down to understanding
your preferences. Do you prefer a more subtle
wine to be enjoyed over a meal or do you
prefer a fruit forward wine that can stand
on its own? Actually, it doesn’t have
to be one or the other, but you must first
understand how (and which) wines age before
knowing if aging is for you.
THE FACTS
Aging is most associated with red wine and
the process of the tannins dissipating from
the wine over several years time. This process
leads to sediment, or grainy material, in
your wine, which is actually the old tannins
clumped together. Tannins are what most
people relate to wine with a strong astringent
taste. As the wine ages the tannins begin
to remove themselves making the wine softer
in the mouth and in some people’s
opinion easier to drink. However, at the
same time the wine’s flavor moves
from being more fruity and bold to other
flavors associated with age, including wood,
leather, and earthy/minerally. The color
in the wine also begins to lighten as the
red pigments bond to the sediment (or extracted
tannins). So, after several years you may
be left with a bottle that is smooth, but
lacking fruit or vibrant color.
It’s not only red wines that change
or improve with age but white as well. Unlike
red wines however, most white wines don’t
contain tannins (or if they do it’s
very little), so the removal of tannins
from the wine isn’t an issue. Instead
the main changes in white wine, similar
to reds, are the dulling of fruit flavors
and the change in color. The color of white
wine actually becomes darker as it begins
to brown or oxidize, similar to an apple
with a bite out of it. Reds can begin to
brown as well but it is harder to see and
usually doesn’t occur for several
years. An oaky white wine, like a Chardonnay,
will become less fruity, more golden in
color, and subtle in the taste with more
caramel or oak flavors and less fruit.
The wine purists (snobs) out there, feel
that this change creates a more complex
and subtle wine that is easier to drink.
So, we propose to you that this preference
toward a more subtle or toned down wine
is exactly that, a matter of personal preference.
If you find yourself enjoying a big bold,
fruit forward cabernet, or a very fruity
Chardonnay or Riesling, then you probably
won’t like the affects that aging
has on wine. However, if you feel that a
wine has too much fruit, or is too powerful
(sharp up front) then you may prefer to
age it a little in order to reach a more
subtle balance between all the components
in your wine. It’s really all about
what you prefer. As we say, “drink
what you enjoy.”
UNDERSTANDING
AGING
When discussing aging you must keep in mind
that not all wines, even those of the same
varietals, or grape type, age the same way.
All wines are different so it really becomes
more of an experiment or gamble, rather
than an exact science. Unfortunately many
people are confused about aging and believe
that all wine becomes better as it gets
older. This causes them to age wine for
way too long, trying to reach that mythical
point of perfection until the wine is dead.
It’s our belief that drinking a wine
whenever you want is how it should be, and
waiting to the point that the wine isn’t
good anymore is much worse than potentially
drinking it too early.
An entire book can be written on which wines
should be aged and for how long, so we will
not get into all of the specific factors
here. However, we would like to point out
some important traps to be aware of when
considering aging. The first is cost. In
order to truly experience the value of aging
wine you must be willing to invest in multiple
bottles (at least 4-6) of each particular
wine. That way you can try them over several
years time to find out when (at what age)
you like the wine the best. Next you have
to factor in conditions. In order to properly
age wine you must have the right storage
conditions, which often include a temperature
controlled and properly maintained cellar.
Wines that are expected to mature successfully
can go over the hill faster if not properly
stored. Last, what are your resources? Knowing
about your wine and it’s potential
for aging is the key to figuring out how
long to keep a wine before drinking it.
The best way to do this is to check out
additional sources including the Internet,
magazines, books, fellow wine drinkers,
and any friendly educated wine merchant.
The factors allowing a wine to age successfully
are variable, but here are a couple rules
of thumb:
- The wine must have a fairly high tannin
level in order to age at all.
- The wine must have enough acidity to keep
it fresh tasting as it ages.
- There must be enough fruit (fruit flavors
are what makes wine taste good) in the wine
or when it ages it will taste like nothing.
- The fuller a wine is in all 3 of these
components, tannin, acidity & fruit,
the longer it will age.
OUR ADVICE
Why would somebody that prefers a bolder
style of wine want to age it, allowing those
big fruit flavors to slowly dissipate out?
This is the exact question that most people
don’t take into account when discussing
the concept of aging wine. They have just
heard for so many years that aged wine is
better. And again we say, “drink what
you like”, however for the sake of
aging we will also add in a “when
you like” clause.
So, if you taste a wine that you really
like, then by all means buy a few bottles
and try aging it. This will help you understand
the effects that aging has first hand. But
if you are happy with the way your wine
tastes now then don’t buy more than
you'll probably drink within the next couple
of years (more likely a few months to a
year unless you have a cellar). After that
drink 'em up because time's a-wastin'. Remember,
it is much less of a tragedy to drink a
good wine too young (not quite at its “peak”)
than too old (over the hill).
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