Age

Can white wine age?
"Is there ever any reason to cellar a white wine? Are there whites that can develop in the cellar?" ...

Age/Aged/Aging:
To let get older
under controlled conditions
in order to improve flavor.
All wine is aged
from a few weeks to many decades.
Aging in barrels
is a very slow oxidation,
and the barrels can impart flavors to the wine: ...

Age: The period of time that a wine spends maturing to achieve its best flavor and aroma. Wines are aged in a variety of ways from large casks (such as oak or stainless steel) to bottles.

Age Restriction: Both you and the recipient must be at least 21 years of age! ...

Age
Often this is used as a measure of quality. It is not always dependable, however, .
Continue Reading → ...

AGE/AGED
White wines tend to turn from a greenish hue in young wines to a yellowish caste/tone to a gold/amber color as they age.

Bottle age Attractive development and maturity of the wine in the bottle. White wines: a creamy, vanilla, honeyed bouquet. Dessert wines: a mellow, honeyed flavour. Red wines: a softness through the integration of flavours.

Bottle Age
Maturation of a wine in its bottle. Most wines undergo a short period of bottle age at the winery before release, while fine wines require additional bottle age from the consumer.

Bottle age: Time spent in the bottle after making and possible wood aging. 'Will improve with bottle age', means the winemaker thinks the wine will taste better with several years cellaring.

Bottle age: The time a wine has spent in the bottle after making and oak aging.

Age of the grape vine reported to be the world's oldest, located in Maribor, Slovenia: 400 years.
The wine Thomas Jefferson and colleageus drank to toast the new Declaration of Independence: Madeira.

'Age-old roots play an important part in our philosophy, but they have not served to inhibit our innovative spirit.' ...

The age of some vineyards of Vega-Sicilia, in which are being cultivated Cabernet Sauvignon and Tinto Fino, is of more than one hundred years and their precious grapes still contribute to make the "Unico" wine a great product.

The age of the cognac is calculated as that of the youngest eau-de-vie used in the blend. The blend is usually of different ages and - in the case of the larger and more commercial producers - from different local areas.

Bottle Age: earth, leather, cedar, cigar box
Wines made from nebbiolo are typically dark, tart, tannic and alcoholic. The best smell of cherries, violets and black licorice or truffles and have rich, chewy, deep and long-lasting flavors.

Proof of age
Transportation
1
Visit the Lodi Grape Commission's Visitor Center located at 2545 W. Turner Road in Lodi.

In the middle age, monasteries began to manage vineyards such as Châteauneuf which was rename Châteauneuf du Pape when the Popes used to spent their holidays there ! A clear sign of recognition for the region.

RIM (see also AGE/AGING, BROWNING, LEGS).
Refers to edge of wine surface as seen through a "ballon" (goblet) style wineglass held at an angle of about 30-40 deg. from the vertical and viewed against white piece of paper or cloth using natural light.

Many fine whites age beautifully, from white Burgundy to Riesling. Well-cared-for Muscadet can be beautiful for more than a decade.

[edit] Cellaring To age wine for the purpose of improvement or storage. Cellaring may occur in any area which is cool (12-15°C), dark, free from drastic temperature change, and free from vibrations. Bottled wines are typically cellared on their sides.

Wines high in acid age more slowly as aging reactions are retarded under high acid conditions.
aftertaste:The residual flavours left in the mouth after a wine has been tasted. Synonym: finish.

Acid/ Acidity : Acids, primarly citric, malic and tartaric, occur naturally in wine and, in the proper proportion, are essential ingredients, giving the wine character and helping it age.

Fading: Describes a wine that is losing color, fruit, or flavor, usually as a result of age.
Finish: The taste that remains in the mouth after swallowing. A long finish indicates a wine of good quality.
Flabby: Lacking acidity on the palate.

Note the trend toward variety - of experiences, types, age, situation. The variety of opportunities is the best way to acquire a taste for wine, as well as good taste in wine! ...

Acid is particularly important in white wines providing a backbone, and allowing them to age. Acidic white wines such as Sauvignon Blanc are food friendly. The right amount of acid prevents sweet wines from being cloying.

White wines acquire more color with age and it also indicated better taste. For reds, though, the deeper the color, the younger is the wine. Reds usually become paler or lighter with age.

Cabernet Sauvignon is a dry red wine that can age for decades and becomes more complex and subtle as a result. Signature aromas in its youth include blackcurrant, cassis, blackberry, herbs and cedar or oak.

Remember that as reds age, they become lighter, and when a white wine ages it becomes darker.
Next, there's the swirl.

In young red wines it can be a warning signal, as bitterness doesn't always dissipate with age. A fine, mature wine should not be bitter on the palate.
Buttery: It refers to both flavor and texture or mouthfeel.

It must even have been difficult at times to decide which kind of wine (red or white) was being served, and in an age when bottled and aged wine was unknown, making such a distinction would probably have been considered a bit pedantic.

By the early 18th Century claret, a term derived from clairet describing the lighter wines of what was already a bygone age, had accrued several solid markets, which certainly included all the nations of the British Isles.

This is the best wine to buy to celebrate the life of a child, as the wine will age in much the same way as a person. First the parent, and then the offspring can celebrate 12 milestones in their life with a case of Vintage Port.

Helps make wines of classic breed, intensity and complexity that often need to bottle-age for at least 5-10 years in order to reach peak flavor condition.

Bouquet - The complex of aromas that develops with age in fine wines; young wines have aroma, not bouquet.

Unless you are a wine collector filling your cellar with age-worthy wines such as the great châteaux of Bordeaux, top producers of California Cabernet Sauvignon, and fine vintage Port, ...

Collective name for a bitter, astringent group of chemicals that are found in skins, pips and stems of grapes, and also in the oak barrels that are commonly used to age wine in.

In cool areas the juice is high in acid and alcohol with a full-bodied fruity varietal palate, often leaving residual sugar, which will usually improve with age, developing honey and floral characteristics.

smoky Some wines, either because of the soil or because of the barrels used to age the wine, have a distinctive smoky character. Cõte Rõtie and Hermitage often have a roasted or smoky quality.

AMERICAN OAK: Increasingly popular as an alternative to French oak for making barrels in which to age wine as quality improves and vintners learn how to treat the wood to meet their needs.

French Chenin Blanc has an intense, fascinating aroma; its high acidity balancing the sweetness and allowing some of these wines to age for many years - particularly some of the sweet versions.

Criadera Cask used to develop or age fortified wines.
Crianza Generically this is used to describe any wine that has been aged.

Oxidised white wine is curiously dark in colour for its age while red is abnormally brown for its age. All wines gradually oxidise as they get older. This is an essential part of the ageing process. However, some wines are prematurely old.

I then realized that proper barrel aging, like bottle aging, is anerobic -- and wine would age better in barrels if no air were allowed inside.

Maturity: this is a measure of the wine's readiness to drink, which is not the same thing as its age.

But both versions indicated that there's a lot more potential down the road as they open up with age.

A barrel used to age wine. Wine aged in new oak barrels takes on some of the compounds in the barrel, such as vanillin and wood tannins.

Sediment:As red wines age, color pigments and tannins bond together and fall out of solution, producing a natural sediment. While the sediment is not harmful, it tastes bitter and adversely affects the wine's mouthfeel.

Definition: A wine's pucker power, generally more dominate in younger red wines that haven had the time to soften up with age. Tannins are derived from the skins, stems and seeds of the grapes used to produce the wine.

Since most winemakers barrel-age their wines for much longer periods, if H2S has been detected and removed in the early stages, constant checking for mercaptan odours is critical since the barrel is where the mercaptans are formed, ...

Red wines, conversely, grow paler as they age. Young reds range in color from a translucent cherry for lighter wines such as Beaujolais or Pinot Noir to a deep ruby, sometimes with purplish tints, for a Zinfandel or Syrah.

They might set aside 10% of their volume and age that 10% for three years in oak before bottling it. They'll call that extra-aged wine a "Vintner's Blend" to distinguish it from their main run.

Barrel Aging - The process of using barrels to age wine for its flavor and aromas.
Blind tasting - Tasting and evaluating wine without knowing what it is.
B.O.B.

browning
As red wines age, their color changes from ruby/purple to dark ruby, to medium ruby, to ruby with an amber edge, to ruby with a brown edge. When a wine is browning it is usually fully mature and not likely to get better.

Exposing the wine to oxygen during the winemaking process helps to round, soften and age it slightly. It also allows the yeast some necessary oxygen to grow and do its job of fermentation. This must be done carefully so as not to oxidize the wine.

Color: A key determinant of a wine's age and quality; white wines grow darker in color as they age while red wines turn brownish orange.
Cooperative: A winery owned jointly by multiple grape growers.

Constant agitation also causes wine to age prematurely. Keep wine away from the vibrations of heavy motors of domestic machinery, street traffic, etc...
Angle of storage ...

As a technical term, the smells that develop with age in the wine bottle, as opposed to "aroma," the smells associated with the fruit. I have little use for distinctions this narrow and try to avoid using them in my wine notes.

Bottle-aging. The winemaker decides how long a wine will age in the bottle before it is released for sale. Most wines are made to be consumed upon release; finer wines, particularly reds, may require additional bottle aging by the consumer.

Bouquet
As a technical term, the smells that develop with age during the wine's evolution in the bottle, as opposed to "aroma," which refers to the smells associated with the fruit.
Brass
Color description for many white wines: Greenish-gold ...

New South Wales, Australia
The best are dry, lemon tinged when young, thick, almost oily and ripe with bottle age.
Queensland, Australia
Fat with tropical fruit, even pineapples when young. Thick and toasty with age.

See also: Wine, Grape, White, Region, Red