Wine Flavors from Aging in the Bottle

As we continue exploring wine flavors and where they come from, let's take a step back to last time.

As was noted, barrel aging can impart many wonderful flavors to wine. Additionally, barrel aging imparts tannin. And, tannin is very important to a wine’s ability to age in the bottle.

But, not all wines are meant to be bottle aged. In fact, most are meant to be consumed immediately. Only a small percent of the world's wines are made to be aged.

As a wine ages in the bottle, it is important that it be kept in a cool environment (~58 degrees F) and kept away from sunlight. Both warm temperatures and light can quickly damage a wine.

So, if a wine is age-worthy, its flavor will indeed change in the bottle over time. The tannin will become softer (less astringent) making the wine have a smoother mouthfeel. The fruit flavors will also soften. And, over time, the color will change from red and will take on an orange hue. This all results in a wonderful wine experience.

But, aging a wine in the bottle is not always for the better. A favorite line that I read some time ago was "The cellar (or wine refrigerator) is not a hospital; it will not make a bad wine get better."  And, that is so true. You must ensure you are aging good wines.

One simple rule is if a wine does not naturally have tannin from the fruit and does not get any appreciable tannin from oak aging, it's not going to be age worthy. And, once it has gotten beyond three to five years old, it likely will have oxidized and be beyond its prime period for drinking.

So, what other factors make a wine age worthy?  We'll get into that next time. Until then, Cheers!

Wine Flavors from Barrel Aging - Part 2

Last time we learned that aging wine in barrels can impart flavors ranging from none, in older 'neutral' barrels, to subtle hints of vanilla, or bolder flavors of chocolate and smokiness, depending on the barrels age and the degree to which its inside was toasted.

But, barrel aging can also affect a wine’s flavor in a very different way. And, that has to do with a very important component of air, namely oxygen.

Originally, wood barrels were used as a means of transporting wines over great distances. It was somewhat accidentally discovered during this transportation process, that the longer the wine was inside the barrels, the more the wines would change in character - in a positive way.  

This was partially due to the wine’s flavor being directly affected by long-term contact with the wood’s surface.  But, it was also discovered that wood, by its very nature, allows microscopic amounts of air to pass through the barrel and to the wine inside. This minimal exposure of wine to oxygen was found to soften the fruit flavors of the wines and create other flavor notes.

This, quite accidentally, began the practice of aging wine in wood barrels, notably oak.  Today, red wines will typically see a minimum of one to two years of aging in oak barrels before being bottled.

And, we’ll take a look at bottle aging next time. Until then,  Cheers!

Behind the Cork™ - Wine of the Week

2017 Beronia Verdejo ($13) 

This Beronia Verdejo (Vehr-DAY-hoh) is imported to the USA from Spain's Rueda region by González Byass (www.gonzalezbyassusa.com).

Rueda, located in Spain's northwest, is home to the largest number of plantings of Verdejo grapes in the entire world. And, if you haven't ever tried a Verdejo, you're missing out.

This varietal is medium-bodied, with balanced acidity and stone-fruit characteristics.

The generic Rueda Denominación de Origen (DO) requires their wines to be at least 50% Verdejo, with the remaining blend made up of Sauvignon Blanc or Viura.

This Verdejo is a bright yet subtle white wine with flavors of grapefruit, stone fruit and fresh-cut grass. It’s a lot like Sauvignon Blanc but isn't. While the nose can fool you into believing it's Sauvignon Blanc, it's a lot more subtle on the pallet, and finishes with just a hint of acidity.  It's a welcome alternative to Sauvignon Blanc.

I was very pleasantly surprised by this one. It's a really nice wine and a great value that is very enjoyable with Spring and Summer warm weather fare. Look for Beronia's Verdejo. You won't be disappointed.

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 Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received this wine at no cost for review. The opinions expressed are entirely my own.

Sample Provided by Donna White Communications

Wine Flavors from Aging

We've been exploring where wine gets it flavor from starting with the star of show, the juice of the grapes, then learning how the grape skins, seeds and stems can affect the finished flavor and we also looked at how the fermentation process can affect flavor. So, now it's on to the aging process and how it can affect a wine's flavor.

Let's start with the aging process before the wine goes into the bottle (aging in the bottle is an entirely separate subject for another time). 

At the winery, once the wine is fermented, it is typically aged in stainless tanks or oak barrels. With respect to stainless tanks, they don't add anything to the final flavor of wine. So, that was easy. But, oak barrels are an entirely different story.  Barrels can affect a wine's flavor in a couple different ways.

First, barrels can impart wood-like flavors. But, wine makers really don't want to make wine that tastes like trees or tree sap. So, one of the things they do is to 'toast' the inside of the barrel (i.e., subject it to an open flame to provide a char to the wood). And, this is done to varying degrees. A barrel that is lightly toasted will add subtle hints of flavor. A medium toasted barrel will start to add vanilla or caramel flavors to the wine and heavily toasted barrels will impart stronger flavors of smoke, coffee and chocolate. 

Now, these flavors are well suited to some red wines but typically not for white wines. So, most red wines spend some time aging in oak barrels while white wines typically don't.  The exceptions are generally Chardonnays that will, with oak aging, take on those butterscotch, vanilla and toast flavors. Fumé Blanc is another oak-aged white wine. It's simply Sauvignon Blanc that's been oaked aged.

And, finally, an oak barrel can actually become 'neutral' with time and impart no flavor. This typically occurs after a new oak barrel has been used three or four times.  It's still a good vessel for aging, but just doesn't affect its flavor.

The other way that oak barrels affect a wine's flavor comes from their naturally porous nature. But, I'll leave that for next time. Until then, Cheers!

Behind the Cork™ - Wine of the Week

2013 Elevation 1250' Paso Robles Red Wine ($7)

This Elevation 1250' is a nice blend of Syrah and Petite Sirah from Paso Robles.  And, as with all Behind the Cork™ - Wine of the Week features, it's a great value.

I must admit this is a unique find at Trader Joe's, and when I went on-line to learn more about the wine I came up empty handed.  It is produced by Riboli Family Wines, a large conglomerate, but even their website does not include this one in their portfolio. So, it's not a mainstream wine and probably will come and go quickly.

Regardless, this is real nice red wine blend at a great price. I'd definitely suggest giving it a try. I went back for more! Cheers!