California Red Wine and What Wines Should Age

When you find a great bottle of California red wine or Chilean white, you might immediately wonder if it wouldn't get better with some time to age in a wine cellar. Most people have some idea that wine gets better when it ages and that bottles several decades old are often very expensive. But this doesn't mean you should go pick up a $20 bottle of California Merlot, throw it in a cool dark place, an expect wine gold in a decade. The science of wine aging is very developed and complex, and only a small portion of wines don't lose quality with age, let alone get better.

Wine experts of the highest quality contend that only the best 10% of all wine can improve noticeably with five years of aging, and only the top 1% can benefit from more than a decade of aging. As such, most wines are consumed too old for their optimum taste and enjoyment, not too young. In fact, the majority of wines begin to lose aroma and flavor after just six months in the bottle. So unless you're spending more than $25 on your wine, you shouldn't really worry about aging at all, and in fact should aim to drink your wine while it's as young as possible.

But that's not as interesting as thinking about which California red wine can be an investment and take advantage of your wine storage fridge, with its carefully controlled temperature and humidity. This is a requirement for cellaring wine. Too much heat or humidity and things will go south very quickly. Assuming you're committed to trying it, the purpose of aging wine is to allow the high acidity and tannin level of more powerful wines to relax and mellow out a little bit, which makes room for the fruitiness and other aromas to come forward.

So wines that are better for aging tend to cost more. One reason is that more powerful flavor comes from smaller grapes, which are only possible from vines with lower yields, pushing up the price per pound of grapes. The simplest rule of thumb is that if you're spending more than $25 a bottle, you could discuss aging it with an experienced wine drinker to see if it's the right decision.

Big, California red wines like Cabernet Sauvignon are the classic example of candidates for aging. Although the average Merlot is already soft enough that it will get worse with age, higher quality vintages have the power and chemical content necessary to benefit from cellaring. While there are several clear guidelines beyond these basic suggestions that can help a person find wines that are known to age well, the best way to learn about it and discover the perfect wine for your tastes is through trial and error. That means buying a case or two of a young bottle you like that seems to have the potential to age well. Then, you drink one to see how it tastes, and cellar the rest.

Every year, you can pop a bottle to see how you like it compared to the original. This makes the process even more fun because you get to discover firsthand how it ages, and figure out what you like best. Once the balance of flavor and "oomph" seems perfect, invite some friends over to sample your gem of a perfectly aged California red wine!

Comments? Questions? Email Here

© HowtoAdvice.com

How to Advice .com