or do you have a friend who plans on tying the knot soon? As a wine lover, the first gift I think of buying for a friend’s wedding is wine. It could be my selfish desire to want to have a hand at my friend’s anniversaries, however there is something really enchanting about collecting wine for a wedding anniversary. What are the wines that age well so that they can be enjoyed after 1 year? Let’s outline the basics of wines that age well from the first few years to the bitter… ahem, sweet end! When buying anniversary wines for a wedding there are four tips that will ensure the wine will age well: acidity, tannin, sweetness level and alcohol level. How To Store Wine Wines that are meant to age 10+ years must be stored in low light and at steady temperatures. An ideal cellar is 55° F with no light. Consider a wine storage unit if you’re serious about preservation Wines with higher acid tend to last longer. As a wine ages it slowly loses its acids and flattens out.

Basically, a wine with higher acid has a longer runway to work with as it ages. Some wines are so acidic and unapproachable that they take about 10 years to taste good. A red wine trait: A wine with high tannins has a similar sensation to putting a used tea-bag on your tongue. Tannin acts as a structural component and wines with higher tannin tend to last longer. Tannins come from the contact of the pips and skins of the grapes in winemaking. best red wine flavorAdditionally, tannin comes from contact during oak aging. top 10 wine godsWhite wines do not need tannin to last a long time.where to buy wine in york pa The alcohol level adversely affects how well a wine ages. best wine bars london

Alcohol either acts as a volatile agent or a preservative (as in vintage port). All dry wines that are not preserved with distilled spirits, such as port, do not last long if the alcohol level is high. A wine that ages well will typically have 13.5% alcohol or below. There are, of course, exceptions to the rule and they typically have high acid/tannin structure. However, as a basic rule, a lower alcohol wine will last longer.new wine 2015 europe This component of a wine is often overlooked because of the popularity of dry wines, however wines with higher residual sugar can age well.best wine amazon Beyond stylistic factors of the wine itself, the cork makes a big impact on how long to age wine (see article on How Wine Corks Affect Aging Wine). Light and heat damage will end a wine’s shelf life. Additionally, note that a wine from the year of someone’s marriage sometimes may not come to the market for up to 6 years after its vintage year.

Mollydooker 2 Left Feet, Shiraz | Merlot The first year of marriage is often a little awkward as newlyweds figure out how to co-habitat. I would buy them something fruity and splashy to mirror a youthful marriage. What doesn’t work well after only one year of aging: Vintage Port, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Barolo, Barbaresco. What falls on its face after only a year? Mi Sueño Los Carneros Pinot Noir The second year of marriage is all about dreaming. Pinot noirs from Sonoma that have alcohol levels in the 13.5%-14.5% range tend to drink better younger. An opulent vintage for pinot noir in Sonoma such as 2009 will drink well in the first 2 years. Not 2010, which was colder, developing what critics call “more elegant” wines with higher acidity that don’t taste as good young. Nicolas Catena Zapata Cabernet | Petit Verdot After 5 years a marriage is ready to start enjoying the longer-lived wines. A blend of Cabernet and Malbec has enough lushness from malbec and age-worthy character of Cabernet Sauvignon to drink perfectly at 5 years (or even longer).

Reserve cabernet sauvignon (CA & WA) from warmer vintages, or Supertuscans from Italy (such as Sassacaia, Ornelaia ‘Tenuta del Ornelaia’, Gaya ‘Magari’, Argiano ‘Solengo’), Syrah (Paso Robles, WA ) from more-structured vintages. Casanova di Neri Brunello di Montalcino At some point you have to admit that your relationship has moved past the youthful stage. At seven years, certain wines are just starting to be drinkable. Seven years marks a time where young and fruity notes of a wine move into more tertiary developed notes of a wine that has the aromas of age. Brunello di Montalcino, Barbaresco, Burgundy, Chateauneuf du Pape and age-worthy wines from the US all start to get tasty around this stage. Dunn Vineyards Howell Mountain Cabernet After 10 years, low-alcohol(13.5%) mountain vineyard wines from California and Washington develop a whole new amazing flavor. Look at wines from Howell Mountain, Red Mountain (WA), Spring Mountain and Atlas Peak for the characteristics of a longer-lived American wine.

Also, slightly cooler more “elegant” vintages (where cabernet grapes take on more bell-pepper notes) tend to age longer because of higher acidity and lighter color. Paolo Bea Sagrantino of Montefalco, Italy After 15 years, regions that make long-lived wines start to come into life. Consider Bordeaux (FR), Chateauneuf de Pape (FR), Burgundy (FR), Montefalco (It), Taurasi (It), Barolo (It) Barbaresco (It), Ausclese Riesling (De). Calon Segur St. Estephe Cabernet-based Bordeaux After 20 years, regions that make long-lived wines are in full swing. Consider Bordeaux (FR), Chateauneuf de Pape (FR), Burgundy (FR), Barolo (It), Barbaresco (It), Ausclese Riesling (De), Vintage Port (Pt). Now you can’t have any more red wine. After 25 years it’s time to start enjoying vintage Champagne, vintage Port, age-worthy sweet wines such as Sauternes and Hungarian Tokaji (“toeKIY” look for 6 puttonyos).When I talk about "benchmark wines," I think it's important to have a balance.

Sure—sometimes a ridiculously expensive bottle can change your life, but other times they only disappoint. Wine is about an experience, and expressing a sense of place. Here are 10 wines that do exactly that. — Master Sommelier Brahm Callahan is the beverage director of Himmel Hospitality Group in Boston and a Ribera y Rueda ambassador. Few wines have a better quality-to-price ratio than German Riesling. They are food friendly, super complex, and amazingly age-worthy; buy some for yourself and see what happens after 10 years to a $20 bottle of wine. It will be hard to believe that more people haven't figured it out, but that's okay by me. My go to is Dr. Loosen's Ürziger Würzgarten, dominated by exotic spice ("würzgarten" means spice garden), ripe apricot, peach, and notes of honey and ginger. I would start every day with champagne if I could. Seriously, I would put it on my Cheerios if I didn't get such funny looks. Pol Roger's Sir Winston Churchill changed my view of what I thought champagne is—from a fizzy beverage enjoyed during weddings and on New Year's Eve to one of the most complex, age-worthy, moving wines on the planet.

The 1985 Sir Winston was like an amazing bottle of aged white burgundy but with brightness and freshness rolled in. Don't be confused by the name–the grape is Melon de Bourgogne. These wines are truly unique: the incredible minerality, combined with ripping acidity, tart fruit,  and a unique saline component that is reminiscent of being rolled by a wave in the ocean. These are wines that scream of a place. Try their Amphibolite 2009 Muscadet. Still a relatively new area of production in the world of fine wine, these wines are still figuring out what they are but they are a perfect balance of Old-World and New-World style. They have fruit but it is more tart than California Pinot Noir and they have earthy notes as well but they aren't as funky as some of their French counterparts. I love J.Christopher's Dundee Hills Pinot Noirs. They are ageable but still approachable in their youth and really speak about where they are from. The workhorse grape of Piedmont in Italy, always playing second fiddle to Nebbiolo, these wines are often overlooked.

They are reasonable, refreshing, and driven by fruit but with something that is so clearly Italian in their profile. My favorite is Elvio Cogno's Bricco dei Merli from Alba. Drink it now or in five years—it will be delicious either way. Vega Sicilia is the most historic property in Spain when we talk about quality wine production. With a 150-year history, not much has changed in how they do things or what they want out of their wines—which is perfection. The estate and their wines move slowly; the current release of their flagship wine, Unico, is 2007. The perfect balance of structure and finesse, these wines are timeless. If you are lucky enough to try Unico, take note that you are one of the lucky few in the world. It took the tasting of Paris for the world to pay attention to California wine, but some of the most awe inspiring wines in the world have been coming out of the Napa Valley since the 1950s. Diamond Creek Vineyards, located on Diamond Mountain in Northern Napa, is as ideal setting as I have ever seen in California.

They produce tiny quantities that age as well as Bordeaux but with a little more generosity of fruit; their Gravelly Meadow is as good as any bottle of Bordeaux I have ever had. The 1991 is my benchmark. As unique a beverage as I have ever had, this wine from Hijos de Alberto Gutierrez (they are the only producer!) is a holdover from a time long past. The tradition of fortifying wine in Rueda and then aging and baking it in the sun in glass containers for months is something of legend. It resembles sherry (they have flor there too) but it is different since verdejo is not as austere as the palomino grape and it shows in the final wine. This wine is truly unique and will change your perception of "traditional" wines from Rueda. Another wine with a unique method of production, the corvina grapes in this vintage are dried for months in lofts outside of lake Garda in northern Italy. The resulting wines are fruit driven but layered by notes of bitter chocolate, earth, ginger, honey, and saffron and are massive with some reaching 17 percent alcohol naturally.