This is for people who have had good wine. Whats up with people saying old wine is better? Is it really better or is it just more potent? Could you tell if its old wine? And whats up with people talking about good years? Cuz to me all of this sounds like its better then the earth and I'm no too sure about this. People pay so much for good wine, why? Help me understand.
2006-09-22 23:04:08 · 5 answers · asked by Gumby G 2 in Food & Drink ➔ Beer, Wine & Spirits
Some wines improve with age. Wines made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Pinot Noir (red wines) are most likely to get better (softer) with age. Not all of those mentioned need a lot of time, that will depend on growing conditions like where they were grown i.g., Napa is more tannic then Sonoma, therefore it would take more time for Napa reds to soften and mature. Likewise, red Bordeauxs and Burgundies become softer and more complex with time, while white Bordeauxs and Burgundies usually are best consumed within a couple years of bottling. Some of them benefit for extended aging and can reach their peak some 30 to 50 years later, and in some cases store well even after that. White wines that benefit from bottle aging would be late harvest wines like Riesling, Gewurztraminer, and the classic Sauternes blend of Sauvignon Blanc/Semillion. In the Riesling / Gewurztraminer category those most likely to benefit would be of the Beerenauslese or Trockenbeerenauslese quality level. This is the level of ripeness to sugar content when harvested. The residual sugar level is high, making the wine sweet to very sweet. Likewise, Sauternes or their cousins made from other vineyards around the world can last very long and gain more complexity over the decades. People pay for what they get. Do not equate price as the dominant factor. It would not matter that you paid $100 for a bottle of wine and didn't like it. Try inexpensive wines to see if you like the grape varieties or styles of wines before laying down big bucks. Only when you have a reference point for your tastes, will you begin to understand wine.
2006-09-23 01:44:05 · answer #1 · answered by Groucho 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Dry red wine does get better as it gets older. The flavor becomes much smoother. This is not true with white wine at all. It gets better to a point (a year or two), then gets much worse. It is not more potent. Once the wine is bottled the fermentation process is over and it dosen't get any stronger.
Good years mean that the weather produced grapes that were good for wine making. In general dry, cool weather makes grapes that have the proper sugar content and that makes better wine. A good year in one region doesn't translate to a good year in another.
I am an avid wine drinker and I agree that people often overpay for wine. They are usually buying a brand name more than what they know is good. I have had really great $20 bottles that were from small vineyards that I visited and no one ever heard of. I have had $80 a bottle that I thought sucked. Paying more than that is an outrage in my opinion. I have have sprung for glasses that cost more, and they were really good, but not significantly better than that $20 bottle that I mentioned earlier.
2006-09-23 07:33:11 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
the older the wine the better it get mixed all together the better the taste is and the smell is try to smell an old wine and a new made wine you will find that the new one smell like vinegar more and the old on like true alcohol more for me i prefer a 10 years old wine on a 2 years old wine
2006-09-23 07:18:22 · answer #3 · answered by tam d 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because of the alcohol content, wine has to age.
2006-09-23 17:45:05 · answer #4 · answered by howlettlogan 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
for useful information on wine and spirits go to website:
http://www.wineandspirits.qsh.eu
2006-09-25 03:05:46 · answer #5 · answered by sandy 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋