Aging of wine

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Bottles of wine aging in an underground cellar

The

wine region and winemaking style. The condition that the wine is kept in after bottling can also influence how well a wine ages and may require significant time and financial investment.[1][2] The quality of an aged wine varies significantly bottle-by-bottle, depending on the conditions under which it was stored, and the condition of the bottle and cork, and thus it is said that rather than good old vintages, there are good old bottles. There is a significant mystique around the aging of wine, as its chemistry was not understood for a long time, and old wines are often sold for extraordinary prices. However, the vast majority of wine is not aged, and even wine that is aged is rarely aged for long; it is estimated that 90% of wine is meant to be consumed within a year of production, and 99% of wine within 5 years.[3]

History

During antiquity, amphorae like these were used to store wine and sealing wax made it possible to age the wine.

The

Book of Luke, it is noted that "old wine" was valued over "new wine" (Luke 5:39). The Greek physician Galen wrote that the "taste" of aged wine was desirable and that this could be accomplished by heating or smoking the wine, though, in Galen's opinion, these artificially aged wines were not as healthy to consume as naturally aged wines.[4]

Bottles with cork closure reinvented the process of wine aging.

Following the

Burgundy, this situation dramatically increased the balance of power towards the merchant classes.[4]

Aging potential

Cabernet franc
 – varieties which usually have aging potential.

There is a widespread misconception that wine always improves with age,[3] or that wine improves with extended aging, or that aging potential is an indicator of good wine. Some authorities state that more wine is consumed too old than too young.[5] Aging changes wine, but does not categorically improve it or worsen it. Fruitiness deteriorates rapidly, decreasing markedly after only 6 months in the bottle.[5] Due to the cost of storage, it is not economical to age cheap wines, but many varieties of wine do not benefit from aging, regardless of the quality. Experts vary on precise numbers, but typically state that only 5–10% of wine improves after 1 year, and only 1% improves after 5–10 years.[3][5]

In general, wines with a low

fermentation and oak aging can impart some phenols. Similarly, the minimal skin contact with rosé wine limits their aging potential.[1][2][5]

After aging at the winery most wood-aged ports, sherries,

vins de liqueur, basic level ice wines, and sparkling wines are bottled when the producer feels that they are ready to be consumed. These wines are ready to drink upon release and will not benefit much from aging. Vintage ports and other bottled-aged ports and sherries will benefit from some additional aging.[4]

Champagne and other sparkling wines are infrequently aged, and frequently have no vintage year (no vintage, NV), but vintage champagne may be aged.[4] Aged champagne has traditionally been a peculiarly British affectation, and thus has been referred to as le goût anglais "the English taste",[6] though this term also refers to a level of champagne sweetness. In principle champagne has aging potential, due to the acidity, and aged champagne has increased in popularity in the United States since the 1996 vintage.[7] A few French winemakers have advocated aging champagne, most notably René Collard (1921–2009).[8] In 2009, a 184-year-old bottle of Perrier-Jouët was opened and tasted, still drinkable, with notes of "truffles and caramel", according to the experts.[9]

Little to no aging potential

A guideline provided by Master of Wine Jancis Robinson[5]

Good aging potential

Master of Wine Jancis Robinson provides the following general guidelines on aging wines. Note that vintage, wine region and winemaking style can influence a wine's aging potential, so Robinson's guidelines are general estimates for the most common examples of these wines.[5]

Factors and influences

Wine constituents

The ratio of

Eisweins, where water is removed from the grape during pressing as frozen ice crystals, has a similar effect of decreasing the amount of water and increasing aging potential.[2][5]

In winemaking, the duration of

filtering of the wine could strip the wine of some phenolic solids and may lessen a wine's ability to age.[1][4]

Storage conditions can influence a wine's aging ability.

Storage factors

Main article: Storage of wine

The storage condition of the bottled wine will influence a wine's aging. Vibrations and heat fluctuations can hasten a wine's deterioration and cause adverse effect on the wines. In general, a wine has a greater potential to develop complexity and more aromatic bouquet if it is allowed to age slowly in a relatively cool environment. The lower the temperature, the more slowly a wine develops.

free radicals that can develop in the wine and result in premature oxidation.[2][12]

Wines packaged in large format bottles, such as magnums and 3

alternative wine closures to cork, such as screw caps and synthetic corks have opened up recent discussions on the aging potential of wines sealed with these alternative closures. Currently there are no conclusive results and the topic is the subject of ongoing research.[1][4]

Bottling factors

Bottle shock

Main article: Bottle-shock

One of the short-term aging needs of wine is a period where the wine is considered "sick" due to the trauma and volatility of the bottling experience. During bottling the wine is exposed to some oxygen which causes a domino effect of chemical reactions with various components of the wine. The time it takes for the wine to settle down and have the oxygen fully dissolve and integrate with the wine is considered its period of "bottle shock". During this time the wine could taste drastically different from how it did prior to bottling or how it will taste after the wine has settled. While many modern bottling lines try to treat the wine as gently as possible and utilize inert gases to minimize the amount of oxygen exposure, all wine goes through some period of bottle shock. The length of this period will vary with each individual wine.[2][5]

Cork taint

Main article: Cork taint

The transfer of

off-flavours in the cork used to bottle a wine during prolonged aging can be detrimental to the quality of the bottle. The formation of cork taint is a complex process which may result from a wide range of factors ranging from the growing conditions of the cork oak, the processing of the cork into stoppers, or the molds growing on the cork itself.[1][2]

Dumb phase

During the course of aging, a wine may slip into a "dumb phase" where its aromas and flavors are very muted. In Bordeaux this phase is called the age ingrat or "difficult age" and is likened to a

teenager going through adolescence. The cause or length of time that this "dumb phase" will last is not yet fully understood and seems to vary from bottle to bottle.[12]

Effects on wine

As vintage Port matures, sediments develop in the wine that are often left in the bottle when the wine is decanted.

As red wine ages, the harsh tannins of its youth gradually give way to a softer

decanting.[5]

During the aging process, the perception of a wine's acidity may change even though the total measurable amount of acidity is more or less constant throughout a wine's life. This is due to the

aldehydes become oxidized. The interaction of certain phenolics develops what is known as tertiary aromas which are different from the primary aromas that are derived from the grape and during fermentation.[2][4]

Malmsey
Madeira shows the color change that white wines go through as they age.

As a wine starts to mature, its bouquet will become more developed and multi-layered. While a taster may be able to pick out a few fruit notes in a young wine, a more complex wine will have several distinct fruit, floral, earthy, mineral and oak derived notes. The lingering finish of a wine will lengthen. Eventually the wine will reach a point of maturity, when it is said to be at its "peak". This is the point when the wine has the maximum amount of complexity, most pleasing mouthfeel and softening of tannins and has not yet started to decay. When this point will occur is not yet predictable and can vary from bottle to bottle. If a wine is aged for too long, it will start to descend into decrepitude where the fruit tastes hollow and weak while the wine's acidity becomes dominant.[4]

The natural esterification that takes place in

tannins in an aging wine will catalytically protonate other organic acids (including acetic acid itself), encouraging ethanol to react as a nucleophile. As a result, ethyl acetate – the ester of ethanol and acetic acid – is the most abundant ester in wines. Other combinations of organic alcohols (such as phenol-containing compounds) and organic acids lead to a variety of different esters in wines, contributing to their different flavours, smells and tastes. Of course, when compared to sulfuric acid conditions, the acid conditions in a wine are mild, so yield is low (often in tenths or hundredths of a percentage point by volume) and take years for ester to accumulate.[1]

Coates’ Law of Maturity

Coates’ Law of Maturity is a principle used in wine tasting relating to the aging ability of wine. Developed by the

British Master of Wine, Clive Coates, the principle states that a wine will remain at its peak (or optimal) drinking quality for a duration of time that is equal to the time of maturation required to reach its optimal quality. During the aging of a wine certain flavors, aromas and textures appear and fade. Rather than developing and fading in unison, these traits each operate on a unique path and time line. The principle allows for the subjectivity of individual tastes because it follows the logic that positive traits that appeal to one particular wine taster will continue to persist along the principle's guideline while for another taster these traits might not be positive and therefore not applicable to the guideline. Wine expert Tom Stevenson has noted that there is logic in Coates' principle and that he has yet to encounter an anomaly or wine that debunks it.[13]

Example

An example of the principle in practice would be a wine that someone acquires when it is 9 years of age, but finds dull. A year later the drinker finds this wine very pleasing in texture, aroma and mouthfeel. Under the Coates Law of Maturity the wine will continue to be drunk at an optimal maturation for that drinker until it has reached 20 years of age at which time those positive traits that the drinker perceives will start to fade.[13]

Artificial aging

There is a long history of using artificial means to try to accelerate the natural aging process. In

wine tasters.[15]
Some artificial wine-aging gadgets include the "Clef du Vin", which is a metallic object that is dipped into wine and purportedly ages the wine one year for every second of dipping. The product has received mixed reviews from wine commentators.[16] Several wineries have begun aging finished wine bottles undersea; ocean aging is thought to accelerate natural aging reactions as a function of depth (pressure).[17]

See also

References

  1. ^
    ISBN 978-0123736468
    .
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-1-4419-5190-8
    .
  3. ^ a b c Windows on the World Wine School: Frequently Asked Questions Archived 2014-12-25 at archive.today, Kevin Zraly:
    Q. Are all wines meant to be aged?
    KZ: No. It's a common misconception that all wines improve with age. In fact, more than 90 percent of all the wines made in the world are meant to be consumed within one year, and less than 1 percent of the world's wines are meant to be aged for more than 5 years.
  4. ^
    ISBN 0-19-860990-6
    .
  5. ^
    ISBN 0-7892-0883-0
    .
  6. ^ Vintage Champagne, Giles Fallowfield, Square Meal Magazine Spring 2006.
  7. ^ McInerney, Jay (October 1, 2011). "The 1996 Champagnes: Great, but Just How Great?".
  8. ^ "Old Champagne". rarewineco.com. Retrieved 2015-10-28.
  9. ^ Julian Joyce (20 March 2009). "World's oldest champagne opened". BBC News Online.
  10. ^ "Deciphering the differences between kits". Creative Connoisseur. May 2004.
  11. ISBN 978-0-7432-7199-8
    .
  12. ^
    ISBN 1-56305-434-5
    .
  13. ^
    ISBN 0-7566-1324-8
    .
  14. ISBN 9780671687021
    .
  15. ^ Stephanie Pain (17 December 2008). "How to make cheap wine taste like a fine vintage". New Scientist (2687).
  16. ^ "Clef du Vin: Best Wine Gadget Ever, Or Just Another Expensive One?". mattura.com. Archived from the original on 2010-04-14. Retrieved 2015-10-28.
  17. ^ "Here's why wine makers are ageing their bottles under the sea". Hindustan Times. July 5, 2018. Retrieved February 19, 2020.

Further reading

  • Suriano, Matthew, "A Fresh Reading for 'Aged Wine' in the Samaria Ostraca," Palestine Exploration Quarterly, 139,1 (2007), 27–33.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Aging_of_wine&oldid=1215338427"