How Much Do You Know About Aging Wines?

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Table of Contents

How do wines change in color as they age?

It’s not the color that changes, but the opacity. As wines get older, they become less clear.

Red wines get lighter in color, and white wines turn deeper golden

Red wines get darker, white wines get lighter

They stay the same

Correct!
Wrong!

As red wines age, the violet and ruby red tones lose some of that vibrancy and become garnet or brick red of a lighter hue. Bright, light white wines will deepen in color and become a darker gold.

Which white wine is most likely to age well?

A Gewürztraminer from Alsace

That $8 bottle of Chardonnay you bought on sale

A Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand

A Pinot Grigio from Italy

Correct!
Wrong!

A Gewürztraminer from Alsace, France could age beautifully for many years, even decades. Generally speaking, Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Grigio do not lend themselves to aging, and while some Chardonnays are built to age fantastically, like Burgundy…that $8 bottle probably wasn’t made with longevity in mind!

What happens to a wine’s scents and flavors as it ages?

The primary and secondary (fruity and fermentation-derived) tasting notes become fainter and more complex tertiary tasting notes evolve.

They grow fainter, while the scent of alcohol is more apparent.

They become fruitier, with more notes such as pineapple, green apple, strawberry, and cherry.

All the scents remain just as they are, except they grow stronger and more pronounced.

Correct!
Wrong!

Tertiary notes are scents and flavors such as dried cigar tobacco, butterscotch, truffle, and earthiness which you won’t find in a young wine.

When can a rosé wine be aged?

Rosé wines should never be aged, but drunk the year they are released.

Most rosé wines should not be aged, but there are a few exceptions, such as vintage rosé Champagne or Tavel.

Most Provence rosé wines will age very well for up to 10 years, but then you should drink it.

If you’ve paid over $30 for a bottle of rosé wine, you can safely age it for 5-7 years.

Correct!
Wrong!

Rosé wines are usually made to be drunk as fresh and young as possible, ideally the year they are released. The flavors will start to “fall flat” and taste old if you keep it much longer. However, a few rosé wines are built to last: For example, vintage rosé Champagnes, and also deep pink Tavel wines from France, which have a the intensity of fruit flavor, body, and structure to age for 3-5 years.

What is the best way to age wine?

In a dark, undisturbed place with a constant temperature (doesn’t matter how hot or cold, as long as it doesn’t change), and tilted at 85 degrees

In an outside shed where the wines can benefit from the natural cycles of the seasons.

In a dark, undisturbed place with a constant, cool temperature.

In the attic with a small window to let in a little bit of light, with minimal disturbance.

Correct!
Wrong!

Warm temperatures, light, and any disturbance (even trains regularly passing by and causing small vibrations if you live near tracks) will disturb the aging process and make the wine age faster–and not necessarily gracefully, so don’t think you can get age a young Barolo ready faster by baking it on a sunny windowsill!

How Much Do You Know about Wine Aging?

Young rosé wine

rose wine - aging wines

You either drink all of your wines immediately, or your closets are full of literally everything (some of which, we hate to say, tasted better three years ago!). But that’s okay, don’t blush! This is why you’re on Wine365. Let’s get you started with aging the CORRECT wines: check out the Cellar Starter Pack

Middle-aged beauty

aging wines - garnet or brick red

Say, you know your way around the wine cellar a bit, don’t you? You probably have a wine fridge (or you’re at least planning to get one), in which case you’ll want to add these Cellar Starter Wines to your collection asap

Wise old Burgundy

aging wines - bottles lined up

Great job, wine collector! You know exactly what you’re doing when buying wine. Just don’t be afraid of opening that bottle you’ve been saving; you can make ANY occasion special when the wine is as good as half the bottles in your cellar. You might not need to start collecting, but we know you’ll find these reds worthy of adding to your stock: Cellar Starter Wines