Why Do Some Wines Age Better Than Others?

Last time we addressed some general guidelines on how long wines can age, noting that rosé should be consumed immediately after bottling while still bright, fruity and fresh, most white wines are typically best within a couple of years of bottling, and red wines can be aged for several years.

So, the common thought is that red wines age best. And, that is correct.  But why is that? Why can red wine be aged longer than whites?  After all, they are both made from the juice of grapes! The answer has a lot to do with tannins, but acidity also plays a role too.

Tannins are chemical compounds that act as natural preservatives in wine. They come from the skins, seeds and stems of grapes. Tannins also come from the wood barrels where the wines are aged. 

But, as previously noted, the key difference between red wines and white wines is that red wines are fermented along with the grape skins, seeds and some or all of the stems while the juice for white wines is separated from the skins, seeds and stems before fermentation. Thus, red wines have much higher tannin levels than white wines even before they go into barrels for aging. It's the chemical compounds in these tannins that have the power to preserve a wine.

But the levels of tannins in red wines vary by the variety of grapes used. High tannin red wine grapes include Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Nebbiolo, Sangiovese, Tempranillo, Bordeaux blends, Merlot and Petite Sirah, just to name a few.  Medium tannin wines include Malbec, Syrah and Zinfandel, while low tannin wines include Gamay, Barbera, Pinot Noir and Valpolicella blends.  So it's the high tannin wines that typically age best.

Acidity also plays a role in how well a wine may age. The natural acid levels in a wine acts to preserve the wine. That's why only certain white wines can withstand aging. Wines such as French Chablis, German Riesling and Loire Valley Chenin Blanc all have naturally high acid levels and are capable of extended aging.

So forget the myth that all wines improve with age. It's the rare few that actually do age well. And, there is actually a peak after which any wine will go into decline. So choose wisely if you are looking to age wines, ensure they are properly stored and, if you have the luxury of owning multiple bottles of a particular wine that you are aging, open one periodically so as to catch it in its peak.

Next time I'll share a bit more about acidity in wines and how you perceive it.  Cheers!

 

 

Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week - Layer Cake Cabernet Sauvignon ($13)

Don't let the chocolate cake on the label fool you. This is a serious wine, from a serious wine maker.  Jason Woodbridge is the owner of Hundred Acre. His 2012 Hundred Acre Cabernet Sauvignon received Wine Spectator's 94 point rating and is a $450 bottle of wine!  He is also the owner of Layer Cake stating that he "Likes the idea of a young man putting 20 bucks on the counter and getting some change back on a good wine."  This California Cabernet Sauvignon is a great value and well worth trying. Enjoy!

How Long Should You Age a Wine?

Last time I mentioned buying a rosé that turned out to be more than three years old, that may not have been properly stored, had turned a brown-orange color and had nutty flavors that a fresh, fruity rosé should not have.  And, several years ago I discovered a bottle of Chardonnay that had gotten stuck away at home and was re-discovered after a couple of years. It too had become a golden-brown color and lost all it original flavor.

The general rule of thumb on rosés is to drink them right away while they are fresh. And with white wines, they can tolerate some aging but most should be consumed within a couple of years after their vintage date. And, with red wines, the assumption is that they just keep getting better with age. But, this is not generally true.

Most wines today are meant to be consumed immediately.  Wineries bottle their wines when they are ready to drink. You should feel confident in opening a bottle of red wine immediately after you purchase it.  If you do choose to put away some wine to let it age, you have to be a bit careful. The line I love is that "A cellar is not a wine hospital, it doesn't make a bad wine better."  So before you put some wine away for aging, ensure that it's starting out as a good wine.

You also really need to be careful of how and where you age your wines. You need a cool (50-55 F), dark place with something around 75% humidity. If your basement fits these criteria, you are good to go. Otherwise, you really need a wine refrigerator. Not a standard refrigerator. They are too cold and have little to no humidity.

Then, the question becomes "How long should you age a wine?"  Well, you may be surprised by Wine Enthusiast's recent 2015 Vintage Chart (February 2016 issue).  Interestingly, their recommendation for Napa Cabernet's (considered a top U.S. wine) is that anything older than 2001 is either past its peak, in decline or may be undrinkable!  And that's with all the proper storage techniques. Reviewing all the rest of the U.S. made wines shows that they are past their peak if they were vinted in 2003 or earlier. And something like a Syrah, produced in the South Coast of California, is questionable if it's older than 2009.  So aging has its limits.

If you do choose to put some wine away, first ensure that it's a good wine to start with, store it under the proper controlled conditions, and don't let it go too long.  A common practice, among those who have wine cellars, is to purchase a case of a single wine and open a bottle each year to see how it's aging. You'd hate to put a case of good wine away for a dozen years, then pull out a bottle and find that they have all gone well past their peak.

There are many factors that affect a wine's ability to age, and we'll touch on those next time.  For now, I'm going to pull the cork on a nice 2010 Sonoma Zinfandel that should be at its peak maturity now. Cheers!

Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week - Sextant Wheelhouse Zinfandel ($15)

This is a nice Zinfandel with flavors of blackberries, dark cherries and some toasted flavors that finishes well. It is a bold, somewhat jammy wine that works well just sipping by the glass or enjoying with a meal.

How to Know If Your Wine Has Gone Bad

Have you ever opened a bottle of wine, poured a glass, taken a sip, and then asked yourself "Has this wine gone bad?"  Sometimes a defective wine is hard to establish, but other times there is no question that the bottle has gone bad.

Last week I went to one of those 'big box' wine stores to pick up a few bottles of wine. Among them was a rosé for the Valentine's Day weekend. The rosé was produced by a reputable California winery that I've purchased from previously. I brought it home and chilled it. When I took it out to serve, I noticed that as I poured it, there were definite orange and brown hues to the ordinarily pink rosé. This was my first clue. Then, upon taking my first sip I noticed it had a nutty flavor and other odd flavors that I would not associate with a fresh, fruity rosé. I immediately wondered if the bottle's seal was bad. But it looked fine. I then looked at the label.  This was my final clue.  And, shame on me for not noticing in the store, but the rosés vintage date was 2012. This was a three-plus year old bottle of rosé. That was the primary issue. It was too old. And, who knows how it had been stored over those three-plus years.  But nonetheless, the wine had gone bad.

So, shame on me. I should have paid more attention to the date on the bottle in the store. With rosé's and white wines, they are best consumed young, within a couple of years of their vintage date, if stored properly. But, also shame on the wine seller. They should have better control on their inventory and know when something on their shelf is too old.

In this case, the thing to do is to take your receipt and the bottle back to the store where you purchased it. Any reputable wine seller (even a grocery store) should refund your money on a bad bottle.

In future postings I'll address how long you should keep a wine and why some wines age better than others.  And, you may be surprised at the aging recommendations for most wines.  For now, hoping all your wines are good ones! Cheers!

Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week - Bear Boat Russian River Pinot Noir ($18)

A really nice Pinot Noir. It has flavors of cherries, raspberries and cola. This is a delicate Pinot Noir that can be enjoyed with most foods, but pairs really well with salmon.

How are Rosé Wines Made?

There seems to be a lot of information and some misinformation out there about the production of rosé wine. I'm not sure why this topic is so complicated or confusing. Rosé is quite simple and such a simple pleasure. So, let's take a look at how rosé is made.

Rosé is made from red wine grapes.  But, it's made in the traditional white wine making process. Hence the confusion.  So, first, realize that all juice from wine grapes, whether from red grapes or white grape, is nearly clear. And, all the color in a finished wine comes from the skin of the grapes, not from the juice.

So with that in mind, rosé wines are made in one of the following ways:

  • Maceration -- This process is the most common method used in the production of rosé wines. The word 'Maceration' literally means to soften by soaking. And in the case of wine production, it means to allow the grape skins to soak in the grape's juice. With red wine, the juice spends a lot of time (weeks) soaking with the grape's dark purple skin that gives red wine its deep color.  In the production of white wines, maceration is avoided. But for rosé, the red wine grape skins spend some limited time soaking with the juice, but not to the extent of red wine production. As a matter of fact, the juice gets very little time in contact with the grape skins. Usually a matter of 2 to 24 hours.  Once the winemaker achieves the desired color they are looking for, the juice is separated from the grape skins and allowed to ferment in a separate tank. For rosé, this is typically a stainless steel tank that is chilled in order to maintain the freshness of the juice.
  • Saignèe ("San-yay") -- While somewhat similar to maceration, this method allows the grapes to be crushed under their own weight and the 'free run' juice is collected.  Since this juice spends little time in contact with the red grape skins, the resulting color is light pink.  Some argue that this is the highest quality rosé because it is the most pure.  Others consider this just a bi-product of red wine production since the remaining grapes and juice go on to become a more highly concentrated red wine.  Regardless, the rosé juice yielded from this process is separated, fermented in stainless steel tanks and kept at cool temperatures to preserve its freshness.
  • Blending -- While this is a process that yields pink wine, it is highly frowned upon and outlawed in France and several other countries.  This method uses mostly white wine that is blended with just a touch of red wine, resulting in a pink wine.  This method is certainly not used in most rosés.

Regardless of the method used, rosés can be dry or sweet. As previously mentioned, one key to finding a dry rosé is the alcohol level. But, rosés can also vary by grape type:

  • Dry Rosés -- Below are listed some of the most common dry rosé wine varieties, used alone or in a blend:
    • Grenache, Sangiovese, Syrah, Mouvedre, Carignan, Cinsault, Pinot Noir
  • Sweet Rosés -- Like any wine, rosé wine can be made sweet by not fermenting all the natural sugar in the grape juice to alcohol. So, if you are looking for a sweet rosé, these are typical examples:
    • White Zinfandel, White Merlot, Pink Moscato

Always remember with rosé wines that they should be enjoyed young (within two years of its vintage) while they still have their bright fruit flavors and crisp acidity, and they should be served cold.

One way or the other, give rosé wines another try. Cheers!

Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week - Sobon Estate Rosé ($12)

This is a nice dry rosé from Amador County, Ca.  This rosé is made from 96% Grenache grapes and 4% Syrah. It is crisp, fruity and refreshing with a nice dry finish. Chill it and enjoy!

Have You Tried Rosé?

Yes, it's still winter. And rich, savory red wines are great with a hardy, warm meal. But with Valentine's Day near and spring being just around the corner, I thought I might touch on rosé wines.

Rosé wines have gotten a bad rap, and some of it is deserved. The White Zinfandel that became so popular in years' past has had a lot to do with rosé wines being greatly overlooked. And many times a rosé can be rather tasteless and weak, nothing there.

But rosés should not be rejected outright. There are many examples of rosés with great character. Light rosés can have flavors of grapefruit, strawberry and sweet cherry, while darker, bolder rosés can have flavors of black currant and blackberry. These flavors come from the many varieties of grapes used to produce rosé.  Fruity rosé can come from the Grenache, Sangiovese and Zinfandel grapes while savory rosé is made from Tempranillo, Syrah and even Cabernet Sauvignon.  Other rosés are made from Mourvèdre, Pinot Noir, Cinsault and Clairette grapes.  Check the label. Nicer rosés will tell you the type of grape used in making the wine.

A couple of keys to finding dry versus sweet rosé are alcohol content and where they are made.  Sweeter wines, in general, have lower alcohol levels (not all the sugar was converted to alcohol during fermentation). All wines labels are required to show the percent alcohol of the wine. If it's down around 8 or 9 percent, it's going to be sweet.  In the 11 to 12 percent range, it will be mid-range between sweet and dry. And, above 12 percent it's going to be dry.  And, typically, rosés from Old World countries are going to be drier. French rosés from Provence are made of Grenache, Cinsault, Syrah and Mouvèdre, Spanish rosé (rosado) is typically made from the Grenache grape while Italian rosato is made with various grapes depending on where they are from. These are all excellent, dry rosés that are typically quite affordable. You should be able to find a nice rosé under $20.

Rosé wines go great with a large variety of foods and are typically served cool to cold. In future posts, I'll touch on the various methods for producing a rosé wine and discuss acidity since many rosés have bright acidity that works well with many food pairing.

If you haven't taken rosé seriously up to now, I suggest you give it a try. You are likely to be surprised! Cheers!

Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week - Francis Coppola Sofia Rosé ($13)

This is a nice, light rosé that's dry (the 12.5% alcohol listed on the label should tip you off that it's dry).  This is a blend of Syrah and Pinot Noir with flavors of cherry, raspberry and citrus zest.  Chill it and enjoy!

A little trivia - Francis Ford Coppola named this rosé for his daughter, Sofia, who is an Academy Award winning screenwriter, director, producer and actress.