Should I Age My Wine?

I've been asked this a few times. Usually in the setting of a tasting room where someone purchases a bottle of red and wants to know about aging. Often I think this is "old thought" where many believed the longer a wine would age the better it must be.

The quick reply has two questions: (1). How are you storing it? (2). Do you like it now?

But First, The Type of Wine

Wines such as rosé and Sauvignon Blanc drink sooner rather than later. Like any other wine they will change with age. In this case not for the better. Some reds are better young, some with a couple years age, some longer. It depends on the varietal and how the wine was made. Instead of worrying about this lets just look at the two questions above.

Your Storage

Most of us don't have a temperature-controlled wine cellar. For aging, wine likes a constant, cool temperature and no direct sunlight. If you have a basement that's great, otherwise it should be stored on the first floor, and on the floor, in the interior, maybe a closet.

For the quick reply I might tell someone, "If you're storing this wine in a temp-controlled cellar you can go X years; if it's in a rack on your kitchen counter then a few weeks."

Do You Like It Now?

Of course, this only works if you've tried the wine rather than buying it "blind." Yes, the wine will change as it ages. The question is will it be for the better? Maybe wine will settle down after a few weeks or months; just maybe it'll get better after a few years.

So the question is, "Will you like it better a couple years or a decade from now?" I can't answer that for you. You may not be able to answer it yourself. This knowledge usually comes with experience.

The even harder question is when will this wine peak. Some "experts" attempt to estimate, but no one knows. And that is the only thing you can depend on when entering the wine collection hobby.