Aging Wine

Three years ago, Matt and I travelled to Europe for his good friend, Marco's wedding. We went to the Netherlands, Sweden, France, and Norway. It's crazy to think it's been that long now since we were there. Wow. While in Paris, France we picked up a few bottles of random wine. We are no connoisseurs by any means, but all the wine in Paris was dirt cheap. Cheaper than you can imagine, 3 or 4 dollars a bottle. We drank a lot of wine while we were there, and even brought some wine home with us.

Today, we opened one of the bottles of wine we brought home 3 years ago. It was a 2005 bottle of Sauvignon Blanc.  It wasn't a special occasion, it was just a let's-try-this-wine-before-it-goes-bad kind of moment! It was incredibly good, and sweet and  nothing like I've ever tasted before, for a Sauvignon Blanc. It was almost as sweet as a desert wine, and I think this is because it sat for so long?!  This is the first time I've ever saved a bottle of wine for this long. I was reading about aging wine, and came across an article that states you shouldn't really age some wines. Most wines should be drank within a few years. Go here to read the entire article : click here - Here's a little bit of the article.

(photo from wikipedia-- aging wine in a cellar) 


"It is a misconception that you must age wine. The fact is, throughout the world, most wine is drunk "young" (that is relatively soon after it is produced, perhaps 12 to 18 months), even wines that are "better" if aged. While some wines will "mature" and become better over time, others will not and should be drunk immediately, or within a few years. Eventually all wine will "go over the hill," so even the wines meant to be kept for many, many years should be drunk before its too late. "

Master of Wine, Jancis Robinson, notes that only around the top 10% of all red wine and top 5% of all white wines can improve significantly enough with age to make drinking more enjoyable at 5 years of age than at 1 year of age. Additionally, Robinson estimates, only the top 1% of all wine has the ability to improve significantly after more than a decade. It is her belief that more wine is consumed too old, rather than too young, and that the great majority of wines start to lose appeal and fruitiness after 6 months in the bottle. (wikipedia)

So, there ya go! Ageing wine isn't always the best way to go. If you search "Aging Wine" in Wikipedia, it will give you a list of wines that are good to age, and for how long.  I like the idea of saving wine, and having it years down the road. It's like a time-capsule. It's a good way to bring back memories you shared with someone years ago.

Bottoms up!