How long should you age your wine?

Mr. Franklin Yost of Bocca Del Vista Florida writes:

"Hey wine guy I'm 82 years old, have been holding on to several bottles of wine for several years but I'm thinking if I don't hurry up and drink 'em they will outlive me. How long should I wait?".

Thanks for your question Franklin.  How long to age wine is one of the most frequent questions us wine guys get.  Given your age I will try and answer quickly.

Most people think that the older a wine gets the better it gets.  That is not always the case and, unlike you Franklin, even wines that improve with age at some point start to decline.  The main reason for that change is that over time the tiny amount of oxygen that the cork allows into the bottle causes the tannin in the wine (what makes your mouth pucker up when you drink some wines bite into a tea bag and you will understand) to soften making the wine smoother.  As the tannin becomes less pronounced the fruit and other flavors become more noticeable because they are not overpowered by the tannin.  At some point the oxygen also impacts the pleasant flavors in the wine as well and it eventually becomes vinegar or undrinkable. 

Wine gets much of it's tannin from grape skin, stems and from the pips (grape seeds, nothing to do with any midnight train), and from being aged in oak barrels especially if those barrels are new.  White wines have the skins, stems, and pips removed before they are fermented that is why the white wines that are stored in oak prior to being bottled, like a lot of  Chardonnay, age better then those that have not.  

Tannin also serves as a preservative allowing the wine to age longer.  Another preservative is sugar.  Wines with high sugar content age well.  That is why you can age desert wines for several years.  Wines that have a lower alcohol level (around 13% and below) and wines that have high acidity, like Chardonnay grown in cooler climates also can be aged longer.         

What follows is some basic information on aging wine.  There are always exceptions but if you follow these rules you should be pleased:  

If you store your wine in anything other than a cool dark place your wine will age faster and much of what you read below will not apply. 

Any wine that comes in anything other than a glass bottle should be used ASAP.  A box of wine or a wine bladder lets in significantly more oxygen then a glass bottle.  The more air the faster the wine ages so anything sold in something other than a glass bottle is meant to be consumed immediately.  The reverse of that is that once opened the bladder inside of boxed wine, because it compresses to fit the amount of wine inside, tends to keep the wine drinkable longer for a longer period of time then a wine stopper in a glass bottle.  That said you should not plan to age boxed wines.

Wines with screw caps get no benefit from aging.   A screw cap lets in no air at all therefor there is no change to the wine inside.  That is why screw caps are used for wines that are not meant to be aged.  If you have a wine with a screw cap feel free to drink it as soon as you want.

If you store your wine in anything other than a cool dark place your wine will age faster and much of what you read below will not apply.

Some basic guidelines for aging various wines:  

Drink immediately but age for no longer then 3 years (use the year on the bottle as the start date).

Red: Gamay/Beaujolais, Lambrusco

White: Albarino, Cava, Chenin Blanc, Gewurztraminer, Moscato, Pinot Grigio, Prosecco, dry Riesling, California Sauvignon Blanc, unoaked domestic Chardonnay, Viognier.

Rose: All

Age at least 3 years and drink within 6 years.

White:  Off Dry (semi sweet) Riesling, Oaked Chardonnay, New Zealand Sauvingnon Blanc

Red:  Barbara, Cotes du Rhone, Pinot Noir, Petite Sirah, Valpolicella, Zinfandel

Age at least 5 years and drink within 10 years

White: Sweet Riesling, white burgundy/Chablis (French Chardonnay)

Red: Carbernet Franc, Syrah/Shiraz, Merlot, Grenach, Temparnillo, Sangiovese, Chianti, Valpolicella Ripasso,  Super Tuscan.

Age at least 8 years and drink within 20 years

White: Sauternes, late harvest, ice wine, other desert wines.

Red: Amarone, Brunello, Barolo, Barbarsco, Cabernet Sauvignon, Bordeaux, Nebbiolo

Hope this answers your question Franklin and at your age if you are not sure just drink it.  Don't leave it for your kids. They probably won't appreciate it just like they haven't appreciated anything else you have ever done for them. 

If you have any questions about a wine not listed or you have any question at all please leave a comment.