Wine Aging: How Age Really Improves Red Wine

Wine Aging: How Age Really Improves Red Wine

Understanding the aging process of red wine

Wine drinker or not, you've probably heard that red wine greatly improves with age and that the aging process is important to a red wine's taste. But do you know why this is? The answer is one simple ingredient found in grapes.

If you're an avid red wine drinker you know that older red wines are generally softer and not very bitter. This is due to tannins that are found in grape seeds. When it comes to the process of aging red wine, tannins play a large role in the overall taste and aroma of red wine. Tannins are founds in all parts of a grape, including the stem, seeds, and the skin. Tannins are known for perfectly aging wine because they are able to slowly oxidize.

Tannins have also proven to be a great natural preservative as well as providing antioxidant properties. Tannins should be extracted properly in order for red wine to taste and smell as it should. Unlike white wine, red wine is often times fermented using solid grapes, which means that tannins is able to naturally extract. With white wine the grapes are generally pressed and then fermented which decreases the amount of available tannins, making it more ideal to drink the wine within 2-3 years.

Extracting Tannin

Those who make wine have to monitor and manage the extraction of the tannin. This is done by manipulating the solids of the grapes which usually come to the top of the vat. Winemakers remove the solids once enough tannin has been extracted into the fermenting wine. This manipulation and monitoring starts during maceration and still remains important all the way into the bottling process.

When a bottle of red wine is bottled and packaged and tasted soon after bottling, the wine is extremely bitter. This is because the tannins are bitter and have not yet been given the time to compound and ferment. Over time tannins form with other molecules which then creates long polymers that grow and settle. Once these polymers settle the wine becomes a bit sweeter, a lot less bitter, and much softer to taste. The key to proper extraction of tannin is control. Winemakers are often well-versed in this process and are aware of how much is needed to achieve the best red wine.

Storing Red Wine

Even after red wine has been bottled and corked, one of the most important parts of the aging process is how the wine is stored. Red wine bottles should always be kept at a constant temperature of about 55-65 degrees Fahrenheit. If the bottles are kept in a colder location, the aging process slows, which may result in an even better tasting wine. Red wine kept in a warmer location will age quicker. It's important that wine is kept in a constant temperature because fluctuations may cause oxygen to enter the wine through the cork, though advances in cork technology have almost eliminated this occurrence.

Understanding the aging process of wine is important if you're ever in the business of wine making. Tannins are the key factors in producing wine that tastes and smells great. Without them, red wine wouldn't taste better aged!

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