The Art of Wine Making: Determining How Long to Age the Wine

Photo by Liv Kao on Unsplash

Aging of a wine before bottling is a balance between the wine’s inherent qualities and the winemaker's goals.

The decision often involves experimentation, understanding the vineyard, and following the wine’s natural development over time.

Here are some of the considerations that a wine maker may use when deciding how long to age a wine before they bottle it for sale:

  • Grape Variety - Red grapes have more structure and tannin that allow for greater aging

  • Acidity - Higher acidity wines are better suited for aging

  • Alcohol Content - Higher alcohol wines generally age better

  • Tannin - Tannin levels allow a wine to age better and the levels will reduce with aging

  • Sugar - Higher residual sugar (RS) level allow a wine to age better

  • Phenolic Compounds - Wines with a higher concentration of phenolics can age better

  • Oak Barrels - New barrels impart significant flavor while used barrels impart little flavor

  • Vintage Characteristics - Different vintages can age better than others

But, probably the most important factor used in making the wine-aging decision is the wine maker’s intended style. Wine aging is a balance of science and art, and the winemaker's vision for the final product plays a significant role in determining how long a wine will be aged before it’s released for consumption.

Some winemakers strive for wines with complexity and depth, which often requires extended aging. With time, a red wine will develop secondary and tertiary flavors—things like earthiness, leather, tobacco, and dried fruits—along with more rounded, integrated flavors.

But, if a winemaker is aiming for a fresher, fruitier style of red wine they may not age the wine as long, instead focusing on preserving the bright, youthful flavors of the grape. These wines are often released young to emphasize their freshness and fruit-forward style.

The bottom line is that wine makers balance many factors in determining the optimal aging time for each wine. They use their experience and talent to influence how a wine will develop over time. Ultimately, the goal is to allow the wine to reach a point where the components are in harmony and meets or exceeds the expectations of the wine maker. Truly an art! Cheers!

Your Oaked Wine May Have Never Been in an Oak Barrel!

Image by FreePik

Oak is used extensively in winemaking during fermentation and aging. It can add flavor compounds – including aromas of vanilla, clove, smoke and coconut.

Oak barrels also allow the slow ingress of oxygen – a process which makes wine taste smoother and less astringent.

Oak barrels also provide a great environment for certain reactions to occur, specifically Malolactic Conversion.

While oak wine barrels are made of French, American and Hungarian oak, they are all expensive. And they only impart flavor to wines during their first two to three uses, after which they are considered ‘neutral.’

So, to get the oak flavors without all the cost, some wines are made with oak chips, oak cubes, oak staves and even oak powder. Using these oak barrel alternatives allows wine makers to use less expensive containers (e.g., Stainless Steel tanks) and still get the desired oak flavors. After the wine has had the necessary time in contact with the chips, cubes, staves or powder, they are physically removed or filtered out and consumers never know the difference.

This may seem ‘wrong’ to many wine purists, but it is allowing winemakers to produce oak flavors in their wines at considerably lower costs. And, studies have been done that show consumers can’t tell the difference. Wine labels don’t tell us the difference, but if oak alternatives are used, and you enjoy the wine, then I’d say the winemaker succeeded! Cheers!