Is Wine Aging Important?

Do you know what percentage of the world's wine would benefit by wine aging for more than five years?

Less than 5%!

With all the talk about wine aging it seems funny that we are talking about less than 5% of the world's wine.

In fact, approximately 90% of the world's wine should be consumed within one year.

Although we may tend to think that many wines improve with age, most do not.

What Makes One Wine Improve
With Age Over Another?

The type of grape:

Red Wines will generally age longer than whites due to their tannin content. Wines with a higher tannin content such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Pinot Noir are better aging wine varietals. A wine that obviously puckers in your mouth with heavy tannins will generally improve with a few years in the cellar. Wines like Beaujolais are not to be aged and are meant to be consumed young.

Origin of the wine: Grapes grown on vineyards with optimum conditions, such as good seasonal weather, soil and drainage will result in great wines that can improve with age.

The Vintage: Weather conditions play a vital part in the beneficial aging wine process. The better the weather conditions during a certain year ,the more likely the wines from that vintage year will have a good balance of fruits, acids, and tannins and continue to improve with age.

Red Wine Storage Conditions: Even the best wines from the best vineyard and the best vintage years will not age well if they are not properly stored.