Ever Wonder What Makes a Wine Age Worthy? (Part 2)

Wines with the best “structure” will generally age most gracefully.

Finding wines that will improve over time requires that you pay attention to a wine’s structure. What is structure? These are the primary components:

• Acidity - Wines lose acidity over time, so it’s important that the acidity be moderately high to aid as a preservative. Acidity can be detected in a wine by it mouth-watering characteristic.

• Tannin - These compounds stabilize a wine’s flavor and help maintain its color. Tannins, when young, will be detected by its astringency or mouths-drying characteristic.

• Alcohol - Acts as a stabilizer in higher amounts (e.g. fortified wines) and in some dry wines with >15% ABV). Alcohol levels are generally printed on the label. High levels of alcohol can be detected by a mild burning sensation in the throat after swallowing.

Finally, it’s the interaction of tiny amounts of oxygen in the bottle along with the acids, tannins and alcohol that produce the chemical interactions that affect how a wine ages.

But, each of these attributes must be in balance with one another. That is, in proportion to each other. And, the best way to know if a wine is balanced is by tasting it and learning to detect this overall balance.

Here are some wines that tend to have good structure that tend to be age-worthy:

• Cabernet Sauvignon

• Syrah

• Merlot

• Bordeaux Wines (which are primarily blends of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Syrah)

• Nebbiolo

• Sangiovese (the grape used in Italian Chianti)

• Tempranillo (the grape used in Spanish Rioja)

• Pinot Noir (the grape used to make red Burgundy)

• Malbec

Even with this knowledge, experienced collectors sometimes have trouble determining which wines will age and for how long. So, you’re not alone in trying to figure this out.

Again, most wines are ready for consumption as soon as they are bottle. It’s only a very small percentage of wines that are actually able to age well. And, you’ll probably need to spend $50 (US) or more to find such age-worth wines.

So, if you find a great red wine, with great structure and it’s well-balanced, try putting a few more away in proper storage, and then pull them out one at a time (every 6 to 12 months) to see how they are changing with age. Hopefully for the better! Cheers!

Ever Wonder Why Wines Turn Brown?

Have you ever opened a bottle of red wine that had turned brown? Or, seen a bottle of white wine that’s turned brown? Well, this is a real issue with wines - as they age.

As wines age, they can become oxidized especially if the cork is not entirely sealed in the neck of the bottle. When the pigmentation in wine gets exposed to oxygen, it turns brown.

White wines can get darker and turn a golden brown.

Reds wines can turn slightly orange, brown or brick color as they age. The red wine on the left is young and the one on the right is showing some signs of aging and oxidation.

As a wine ages, you’ll often also see color variations along the edges of the glass as you look down into a slight tipped glass. You may see the red and purple hues of the wine in the middle of the glass but you’ll also see the secondary colors of orange, brown or brick along the edge.

This is a phenomenon that’s most easily seen with Pinot Noir. As Pinot Noir ages you’ll see more brick-like color around the edges.

So, always look at your wine. You can learn a lot about its age. Cheers!

Are Older Wines Better?

It's commonly believed that older wine is better. And that can be true. But often, it's not.

If you've read some of my past blogs, you know that one of my favorite lines is that a wine cellar is not a wine hospital -- it doesn't make a bad wine better.

Today, most wine is meant to be enjoyed right away. When it's bottled, it's ready for consumption. Ageing doesn't make it better.

What you will find is that older wines do indeed change. On the positive side, tannins in red wines will mellow making the wine feel smoother in your mouth. But, on the down side, the big fruit flavors and aromas also fade. You'll begin to get different smells and tastes in older wines that you may not expect from a young wine. Especially if the wine is oxidized, you'll detect a distinct nutty flavor. Also, as red wines age, the red color changes from deep red to a much paler red and can even begin to take on orange colors.

A good rule of thumb is that most wines will begin to fade to the down side in as few as five years and after 10 years they'll generally have lost most of their character, if not out-right spoiled. And, remember, this aging must be done properly in a cool, dark place.

So, older wines can be better. But, you don't need to age wines to be able to drink great wines.

Next time we'll look at old wines and their appeal. Cheers!