Selecting Wines to Age

Wednesday Oct 28th, 2009 92 Views Vine to Wine

Welcome to Vine to Wine this is your host Linda Moran. There are so many choices when it comes to creating a wine cellar. How do we know which wines to purchase with the intention of not opening them for ten, fifteen, or twenty years? Today we will look at some favorites.

Quite honestly not all wines age well. So which wines have a reputation or a pedigree that give us better odds for investing not only the financial aspect but also the patience?

Well I know first hand that German Riesling is one of the very best investments when it comes to a sublime experience well worth waiting for. However, when we talk about aging wines most of us are thinking about red wines and there are some rules of thumb. Begin with the region and the vintage. If it was a good or excellent vintage in that region, you are off to a good start. If the wine is made from Cabernet Sauvignon, both new and old world, so Bordeaux, California and Washington, Riesling especially from Germany and Alsace France or Nebbiolo from

Italy

, theses are grapes known to age well. Look for winemakers with a reputation for wines that age well. Their track record is valuable, such high end producers at Ridge’s Montebello of California or Domaine Romanee – Conti of France. But most of all the wine must be well-balanced made from mature fruit with good tannins and balanced pH. This is a big investment – do your homework and it will pay off. Remember to send your wine questions to Linda at vine to wine dot net and thank you for joining me on today’s Vine to Wine.