The aging of wine is potentially able to improve the quality of wine. This distinguishes wine from most other consumable goods. While wine is perishable and capable of deteriorating, complex chemical reactions involving a wine's sugars, acids and phenolic compounds (such as tannins) can alter the aroma, color, mouthfeel and taste of the wine in a way that may be more pleasing to the taster. The ability of a wine to age is influenced by many factors including grape variety, vintage, viticultural practices, wine region and winemaking style. The condition that the wine is kept in after bottling can also influence how well a wine ages and may require significant time and financial investment.[1][2] The quality of an aged wine varies significantly bottle-by-bottle, depending on the conditions under which it was stored, and the condition of the bottle and cork, and thus it is said that rather than good old vintages, there are good old bottles. There is a significant mystique around the aging of wine, as its chemistry was not understood for a long time, and old wines are often sold for extraordinary prices. However, the vast majority of wine is not aged, and even wine that is aged is rarely aged for long; it is estimated that 90% of wine is meant to be consumed within a year of production, and 99% of wine within 5 years.[3]
- ^ R. Jackson "Wine Science: Principles and Applications" Third Edition, pp. 431–489, 643–671. Academic Press 2008 ISBN 978-0123736468.
- ^ R. Boulton, V. Singleton, L. Bisson, R. Kunkee Principles and Practices of Winemaking, pp. 382–424. Springer 1996 New York ISBN 978-1-4419-5190-8.
- ^ Windows on the World Wine School: Frequently Asked Questions Archived 2014-12-25 at archive.today, Kevin Zraly:
Q. Are all wines meant to be aged?
KZ: No. It's a common misconception that all wines improve with age. In fact, more than 90 percent of all the wines made in the world are meant to be consumed within one year, and less than 1 percent of the world's wines are meant to be aged for more than 5 years.