Aging of Wine

Aging potential

In general, wines with a low pH (such as Pinot Noir and Sangiovese) have a greater capability of aging. With red wines, a high level of flavor compounds, such as phenolics (most notably tannins), will increase the likelihood that a wine will be able to age. Wines with high levels of phenols include Cabernet Sauvignon, Nebbiolo and Syrah. The white wines with the longest aging potential tend to be those with a high amount of extract and acidity. The acidity in white wines, acting as a preservative, has a role similar to that of tannins in red wines. The process of making white wines, which includes little to no skin contact, means that white wines have a significantly lower amount of phenolic compounds, though barrel fermentation and oak aging can impart some phenols. Similarly, the minimal skin contact with rosé wine limits their aging potential.

  After aging at the winery most wood-aged Ports, Sherries, Vins doux naturels, 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 & Sherries will benefit from some additional aging, as can vintage Champagne. 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.

    Little to no aging potential

• -German QBAs-Qualitätswein bestimmter Anbaugebiete, or quality wine from a specific region
• -Asti and Moscato Spumante
• -Rosé and blush wines like White Zinfandel
• -Branded wines like Yellow Tail, Mouton Cadet, etc.
• -European table wine
• -American jug & box wine
• -Inexpensive varietals (with the possible exception of Cabernet Sauvignon)
• -The majority of Vin de pays
• -All Nouveau wines
• -Vermouth
• -Basic Sherry
• -Tawny Ports

    Good aging potential

• -Botrytized wines (5–25 yrs)
• -Chardonnay (2–6 yrs)
• -Riesling (2–30 yrs)
• -Hungarian Furmint (3–25 yrs)
• -Loire Valley Chenin blanc (4–30 yrs)
• -Hunter Valley Semillon (6–15 yrs)
• -Cabernet Sauvignon (4–20 yrs)
• -Merlot (2–10 yrs)
• -Nebbiolo (4–20 yrs)
• -Pinot noir (2–8 yrs)
• -Sangiovese (2–8 yrs)
• -Syrah (4–16 yrs)
• -Zinfandel (2–6 yrs)
• -Classified Bordeaux (8–25 yrs)
• -Grand Cru Burgundy (8–25 yrs)
• -Aglianico from Taurasi (4–15 yrs)
• -Baga from Bairrada (4–8 yrs)
• -Hungarian Kadarka (3–7 yrs)
• -Bulgarian Melnik (3–7 yrs)
• -Croatian Plavac Mali (4–8 yrs)
• -Georgian Saperavi (3–10 yrs)
• -Madiran Tannat (4–12 yrs)
• -Spanish Tempranillo (2–8 yrs)
• -Greek Xynomavro (4–10 yrs)
• -Vintage Ports (20–50yrs)

   The ratio of sugars, acids and phenolics to water is a key determination of how well a wine can age. The less water in the grapes prior to harvest, the more likely the resulting wine will have some aging potential. Grape variety, climate, vintage and viticultural practice come into play here. Grape varieties with thicker skins, from a dry growing season where little irrigation was used and yields were kept low will have less water and a higher ratio of sugar, acids and phenolics. The process of making 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.

In winemaking, the duration of maceration or skin contact will influence how much phenolic compounds are leached from skins into the wine. Pigmented tannins, anthocyanins, colloids, tannin-polysaccharides and tannin-proteins not only influence a wine's resulting color but also act as preservatives. During fermentation adjustment to a wine's acid levels can be made with wines with lower pH having more aging potential. Exposure to oak either during fermentation or after (during barrel aging) will introduce more phenolic compounds to the wines. Prior to bottling, excessive fining or filtering of the wine could strip the wine of some phenolic solids and may lessen a wine's ability to 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.

  The natural esterification that takes place in wines and other alcoholic beverages during the aging process is an example of acid-catalysed esterification. Over time, the acidity of the acetic acid and 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.