Is old wine really that great? The truth about cellaring wine is that most wine isn’t meant to age. Most wine is released within 2 years of being grapes in a vineyard and then slurped up within 6 months of purchase. So what wines should you consider for long term cellaring? How Long to Cellar Wine Now that you know what wines age well, let’s take a look at one of the most overlooked aspects of a wine collection: “I’d like to start a wine collection so I can make money as wine earns value over time.” “I have an interest in a particular wine region/vintage and I want to stock up.” “I want know what old wine tastes like and have some to enjoy from time to time.” “I’d like to save wine to enjoy over the years to reflect on life.” Wine as an Investment If money is your primary motivation to cellar wine, you’ll need to honestly assess some outside factors to see if you are positioned right to get the best return. For instance, you might want to live outside of a large metropolitan area such as San Francisco, Chicago, Dallas or New York and make long-term relationships with inner city retailers and restaurants who might be interested in your wines.

If you want to read more about wine as an investment check out: Getting Started with Wine Investments How to Tell if a Wine is Cellar Worthy There are 4 traits that define wines that last longer than others. 4 Traits of Age-Worthy Wines Building a Cellar on Vintages or Regions The mindset of someone buying a region or a vintage is something like this: “2010 was a stand out vintage in Côtes du Rhône and I’ve heard Chateauneuf-du-Pape wines should age quite well.” This type of wine cellaring is for personal use over a period of years and is perfect for people who love tradition. It’s a great way to explore how wines age over time and become an expert on a particular region. You can even plan vacations around your passion for wine! There are a couple of basic guidelines listed below that will help you get started. Everyone who is passionate about wine should know how old wine tastes. It’s not that old wine is better, it’s just different.

Think of old wine like a classic car with quirky out-of-date qualities but with a resonating style of the time. A well-built old car stills drives great today. Despite the wonders of old wine, it’s not a particularly good reason to start a wine cellar. There are already ample opportunities to buy and taste old wine. It may cost you $100-$300 to buy an old bottle of wine or attend a tasting of old wines, but these figures are still cheaper than buying new wine and waiting for it to be ready after 10-20 years. It’s possible to find great older wines for less than $10 per year. It’s not that old wine is better, it’s just different. Cellar Wine for Nostalgic Reasons This is our favorite reason to cellar wine. This type of cellaring requires foresight and creativity and will add another dimension of life experience for your future-self to enjoy! For instance, acquire a series of 10 wines to enjoy over the next 10 years of wedding anniversaries. This requires some understanding of what wines will age perfectly to drink on each anniversary night.

Another example is using a wine collection to extend a trip. Let’s say you finally go to Côtes du Rhône and manage to bring home a case of wine. Every time you open or share a bottle of that wine it will physically (through taste and smell) bring back that travel experience.best wine sorts Watch a video on how to decant old wine (with old corks!) prior to drinking it. dry red wine portugalWe open a bottle of 1990 Chateau Haut-Brion, a first-growth Bordeaux and attempt to describe what it tastes like.best wine subscription serviceOne of the top questions I get asked by wine enthusiasts is how long to age a wine. best wine label copy

We’ve previously discussed the 4 basic traits of an age-worthy wine. In this article we’ll take a deeper look at specific varietals and what to look for when aging wine. Did You Know: Improper storage conditions can lower a wine’s lifespan by up to 75%.best wine for cold weather Read more: Finding the right wine storage temperature.best wine for sleep You don’t have to spend a lot of money to have great success cellaring and aging wines. dry red wine photosIn fact, cellaring affordable wines is very gratifying. red wine pasta salad recipeAged wines have amazing nutty, dried fig-like flavors and they’re something that anyone can enjoy with a little thinking ahead.top 100 wine of 2013

Many wine varieties will age quite well. However, some of these same varieties are typically produced in a ‘drink now’ style, making it less likely that they will cellar. Of course, there are always exceptions to this rule, so look more carefully into the producer if you’re not sure. Chart: See the wine aging chart for more specific examples. Hopefully you’ll have a chance to taste the wine before you consider cellaring it as this will help you identify its structural elements before deciding to store it. If not, try to get your hands on a wine tech sheet or tasting notes that talk about things like tannin, acidity and balance (see: wine descriptions chart) “For example, a red wine that is all tannin and the fruit is a faint whisper, barely fighting for a place on your palate what can you expect it to become? By the time the tannins mellow the fruit has as well and the wine will have grown old a taste accordingly. Maybe, but world class, not likely.” TIP: Don’t know how to taste ‘structure’ in wine?

Learn how to improve your palate. TIP: Learn more about the 5 fundamental wine characteristics. The techniques and style of winemaking can have a large effect on how long you can age a particular wine. Not all wine is made equal. You can still find plenty of affordable winemakers out there making superior age-worthy wines if you are willing to venture outside of the popular trends. Here is one technique to start identifying great winemakers: Watch out for hot or ‘ripe’ vintages. These wines will taste crazy delicious early on, but will fall apart and often get flabby (ie lose acidity) sooner, due to the physiology of how grapes ripen. Since acidity is a key component to slowing the development of faults in aging wine, it’s an essential component of an age-worthy wine. TIP: Find out about vintage variation in wine. One final thing to note about whether or not a wine will age well is how it tastes right now. Most cellar worthy wines have quite a bit of structure (e.g. tannin and acidity) and are often described as ‘closed’ or ‘tight’ early on.