Most white wines should be consumed within two to three years of bottling. Exceptions to this rule are full-bodied wines like chardonnay (three-five years) or roussane (optimal between three to seven years). However, fine white wines from Burgundy (French Chardonnays) are best enjoyed at 10-15 years of age.
If you're buying wine on the aftermarket, 20 years is a good benchmark. For wines you're aging yourself, a shorter period — 10 years, maybe, or even five — can be long enough to result in a profound change. Some wine thinkers refer to this as “resting” a wine, giving it a few years to develop, as opposed to decades.
When stored properly and kept unopened, white wines can often outlive their recommended drinking window by 1-2 years, red wines by 2-3 years, and cooking wines by 3-5 years. Fine wine — as you may have guessed — can typically be consumed for decades.
The best wines can be stored for more than 100 years, but most great wines will reach their peak before they turn 50 years old.
Wine tastes better with age because of a complex chemical reaction occurring among sugars, acids and substances known as phenolic compounds. In time, this chemical reaction can affect the taste of wine in a way that gives it a pleasing flavor.
So, could you drink what's left? On a microbiological level, yes: Researchers say it's likely safe and won't kill you, although the wine won't taste good.
Most wines will improve with age but too much age will ultimately spell the end of what was once a great wine. 200 year old shipwreck wines are lucky if they taste like wine at all.
The South-West German city is home to the world's oldest wine bottle and, if experts are to be believed, it's actually drinkable. The Historical Museum of Palatinate, Speyer, is home to the 'Speyer Wine Bottle', a 1,700-year-old bottle of wine that was discovered in 1867.
Some white wines do age well, but I really have to be clear that the fruit flavors and acidity in a 30-year-old wine will fade, and it could taste unlike anything you're familiar with. Older Chardonnay will take on secondary notes of nuts, spices and earth, and you might not even recognize it from its youth.
A wine vintage is the year in which the grapes were harvested. A wine's vintage can greatly affect the taste and quality, primarily because of the weather that affects the vines throughout the growing season. In the Northern Hemisphere (North America and Europe) the grape growing season is from about April to October.
All wines are, to an extent, aged.
Given that aging is a part of the winemaking process, it can safely be said that all wine gets better with age. That's because the change wine endures during aging is a purposeful, built-in part of the winemaking process.
Reality Check: Most Wines Aren't Designed to Age
Contrary to popular belief, most wines these days don't improve with age. In fact, the majority of wine we see in stores today won't age for very long at all. As a general rule, you can assume that: Everyday red wines have about a 5 year life span.
No, it doesn't. A wine's alcohol percentage is determined during the fermentation process, when sugar is converted to alcohol. Once the fermentation process is over, the alcohol level remains constant.
Wines like Rosé, Pinot Grigio and Sauvignon Blanc are the main wines that come to mind when talking about wine that don't age well. The structural make up of these wines doesn't lend itself well to the aging process and probably won't give you any benefit.
Aside from resveratrol, flavonoids and tannin are some other beneficial antioxidants in red wine. These two types of antioxidants can help in slowing down the aging process by preserving collagen and elastic fibres, resulting in reduced fine lines and wrinkles, especially on the face.
Certain types can be aged for just three to five years, while others can remain in a cellar for decades. Additionally, some bottles have already been aged before you even find them in stores. A few terms to keep an eye out for that indicate an aged wine are Reserva, Riserva, and Gran Reserva.
Typically, for red and white wines that age for 10 to 20 years, think Cabernet Sauvignon, Brunello, Barolo, red Bordeaux, Sauternes, ice wine, Semillon and German Riesling.
Shiraz: Australia's most popular variety, Shiraz thrives in vineyards all over the country, producing world-class wines. Many Aussie styles are made for early drinking, but others can age gracefully for up to 20 years and beyond. Ageing softens the wine and makes it more savoury and complex.
In that case, the wine will have lost its fruit flavors and taken on nutty notes, and the color will have started to turn brown. It's not harmful, but it won't taste good. Even on the rare chance that a wine has turned to vinegar, it would be unpleasant to drink, but not dangerous.
Most wines will improve with age but too much age will ultimately spell the end of what was once a great wine. 200 year old shipwreck wines are lucky if they taste like wine at all.
Some white wines do age well, but I really have to be clear that the fruit flavors and acidity in a 30-year-old wine will fade, and it could taste unlike anything you're familiar with. Older Chardonnay will take on secondary notes of nuts, spices and earth, and you might not even recognize it from its youth.
While it may not taste amazing, drinking wine that's past its heyday will not hurt you. Remember, you're better off not trying to age your wine. So few bottles benefit from aging and you could end up ruining a perfectly good bottle.
Some effects of wine are more than just skin-deep. If it's not nipped in the bud, repeated dehydration from alcohol consumption can intensify aging, causing more fine lines and deeper wrinkles.
To say someone “ages like fine wine” is to say they get better over time.