Like most topics having to do with wine there are always exceptions to every rule and always rules to every exception. Aging wine is not left out of this quandary but that is what makes wine so great after all. It is the adventure and expanse of never ending knowledge and variety that keeps us thirsty in a world seemingly gone mad. I find solace in wine. It is unique in that it is always changing; a wine can taste completely different from one day to the next depending on an immense amount of stimulus. Wine is also unique in that most of it improves with a little dust on the bottle. But, like I have said before somewhere, there are exceptions and there is always a decline in quality after a certain point. Discovering where that point is on the timeline of the wine in your cellar is half the fun. This game is not for the impatient or the person who lives for the day but for the person who thinks they will never die.
I am not going to delve too much into how to age wine properly except for that I will tell you that the space in which to do it in needs to be somewhat dry (but not too dry: a little moisture helps most things), dark, and around 55 degrees Fahrenheit. However you reach these conditions is up to you.
Not unlike all things wine related, aging wine is also a matter of subjectivity of taste but there are some general rules of thumb to follow in order to maximize potential:
Most wine made these days is ready to drink. A lot of the wine that you pick up for every day drinking is just that. It may or may not age for three or four years after you buy it but then it wouldn’t fall into the above category any longer.
Most red wines age longer than most white wines. A German wine aficionado may tell you otherwise because German Riesling ages tremendously well gaining nuttiness and refined minerality is exposed. Another exception (among others) is Oregon Pinot Noir and Non-Cru Beaujolais do not tend to age well. They are fresh wines that fizzle out into a watery acidic mess if they are aged too long (beyond 5-10 years) although there are always exceptions. Once again, the topic is subjective. Some people like well aged California Chardonnay because of the wood of the oak aging never dies and at a point will be all that is left. This is not appealing to me but to each his own.
Old World wines age longer than New World wines. This is almost always true minus the times where Napa has a tremendous vintage at the same time Bordeaux has a terrible one. There are several reasons why this is but no one reason shines. Bordeaux has longer ripening which leads to longer aged wines for the most part.
Screw caps (stelvin closures) will age a wine longer than a cork will. Cork is not a perfect seal where the previous is. Trace amounts of oxygen help age a wine quicker (“quicker” is a relative term when it comes to Bordeaux who never use screw caps and never will being that some of the best Bordeaux can age for 70+ years in the right conditions).
Madeira never dies. Madeira will last forever because of its oxidative state and its fortification. The perfect wine for someone who will never die.
These are just a few clever suggestions for aging wine and rules of thumb to follow in your world of wine. At the Wooden Vine, my uptowe do not increase the price of a wine as it ages (whereas other restaurants do) so you can come in and buy a 1996 bottle of Chateau Lafite Rothchild for $650 an absolute steal if you ask me.
