The aging of wine is potentially able to improve the quality of wine. This distinguishes wine from most other consumable goods. While wine is perishable and capable of deteriorating, complex chemical reactions involving a wine's sugars, acids and phenolic compounds (such as tannins) can alter the aroma, color, mouthfeel and taste of the wine in a way that may be more pleasing to the taster. The ability of a wine to age is influenced by many factors including grape variety, vintage, viticultural practices, 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]
^R. Jackson "Wine Science: Principles and Applications" Third Edition, pp. 431–489, 643–671. Academic Press 2008 ISBN 978-0123736468.
^R. Boulton, V. Singleton, L. Bisson, R. Kunkee Principles and Practices of Winemaking, pp. 382–424. Springer 1996 New York ISBN 978-1-4419-5190-8.
^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.
The agingofwine is potentially able to improve the quality ofwine. This distinguishes wine from most other consumable goods. While wine is perishable...
accelerate the aging process; the older blends, colheitas and frasqueiras, are produced by the canteiro method. Because of the way these wines are aged, they are...
specifically for the storage and agingofwine. Fine restaurants and some private homes have wine cellars. In an active wine cellar, temperature and humidity...
Wine caves are subterranean structures for the storage and the agingofwine. They are an integral component of the wine industry worldwide. The design...
on the presence of acids in the wine. It is altered with wineaging by reactions between different active molecules present in the wine, these reactions...
repeated several times during the agingofwine. Racking or soutirage is a traditional method in wine production of moving wine from one barrel to another using...
Italian wine laws, riserva indicates additional aging. Sometimes, reserve wine originates from the best vineyards, or the best barrels. Reserve wines may...
The wine must spend a minimum of nine months aging on its lees. The sparkling Blanquette de Limoux is composed predominately of Mauzac and is aged for...
Port wine (Portuguese: vinho do Porto, Portuguese: [ˈviɲu ðu ˈpoɾtu]; lit. 'wineof Porto'), or simply port, is a Portuguese fortified wine produced in...
proanthocyanidins and other wine components during wineaging to form new polymeric pigments resulting in a modification of the wine color and a lower astringency...
aged in wooden casks. Others are coloured with caramel colouring to imitate the effect ofaging, and some are produced using a combination ofaging and...
excessive oxidation. Those wines that are classified to undergo aging as oloroso are fortified to reach an alcohol content of at least 17 per cent. They...
usually based on length of time estimated to age the wine. Simple wines are commonly 38 millimetres (1.5 in) long, medium agingwines (the most popular size)...
Vineyards, Zone Wines, Municipality Wines, Quality Sparkling White and Sparkling Wines) with the traditional aging ones. In 2018, Rioja launched its new...
astringent. Wine tannins add balance, complexity, structure and make a wine last longer, so they play an important role in the agingofwine. The average...
common aging designations on Spanish wine labels are Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva.[citation needed] Crianza For Rioja red wines these are aged for 1...
Chianti is an Italian red wine produced in the Chianti region of central Tuscany, principally from the Sangiovese grape. It was historically associated...
the aging process. Bulk wines are sometimes more cheaply flavored by soaking in oak chips or added commercial oak flavoring instead of being aged in a...
before release, of which at least 18 months must be in wood. When subjected to agingof at least five years before release, the wine can be labeled as...
combined with a high-quality stopper such as a cork, it allowed long-term agingofwine. Glass has all the qualities required for long-term storage. It eventually...
wine seem to have a fuller body. The release of enzymes during this process inhibits oxidation which may also improve the aging potential of the wine...
Storage ofwine is an important consideration for wine that is being kept for long-term aging. While most wine is consumed within 24 hours of purchase...
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