When Should You Put Wine in the Cellar?

Enjoying Young and Old Modern Wines on Time

There is a misconception among many wine consumers that wine needs to be a ripe old age before it is ready to drink. The truth is that less than 10% of all wine produced today needs to be cellared. In fact, most wines don't benefit from ageing at all, and many will even deteriorate with long-term cellaring.

Not to mention the fact that there are many wines, such as those made from Sauvignon Blanc grapes, that simply taste better when they are young and still fresh. Sadly, there are far too many bottles of good wine that are kept too long and are barely drinkable when the cork is finally popped. What a shame!

Today's wine consumers favour softer wines with an abundance of slightly sweet, ripe fruit. Many winemakers are happy to oblige and modern wine-making techniques and equipment allow them to do just that. The result is a wine that is pleasurable to drink when young and that doesn't need to, and perhaps shouldn't, be aged.

Modern Wine-making Practices

Not too long ago, grapes were generally picked early, providing tougher tannins and a much harsher wine. The trend now is to leave the grapes on the vine much longer allowing not only the sugars, but also the skins, seeds, and stems, to ripen fully. Since tannins in a wine come from the skins, seeds and sometimes the stems, the resulting tannins will be riper and softer, reducing the need for many years of cellaring to make them more approachable.

"Micro-oxygenation" is another modern practice that has been developed to aid in the production of consumer-friendly wines. This technique involves slowly adding oxygen to fully fermented juice, fashioning a wine that is softer with supposedly better integrated tannins, and thus, ready to drink sooner.

Carbonic maceration is a fermentation technique that has been used in the production of Beaujolais for some time, but it is now being employed more frequently in both Old and New World wine regions wishing to turn out ready-to-drink wines.

When carbonic maceration is to take place, the grapes are not crushed first, as in the making of most red wines, but are put into a vat while they are still intact. Fermentation then takes place inside the whole grape, producing a wine that has an abundance of fruit flavours with very little tannin.

Cabernet Sauvignon Benefits from Cellaring

Although most wine purchased today is intended to be consumed young, there is some wine that does benefit from a few extra years in the cellar before it is at its peak. Red Bordeaux from a prestigious chateau is one such example. These big, powerful wines, made from grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon, are typically more tannic in structure and require time to soften and gain the complexity they are capable of. A 1990 Chateau Rahoul is still very enjoyable after nearly 20 years in a cellar.

Generally speaking, wine bought from the general list at the LCBO in Ontario is meant to be enjoyed immediately, while some of the more expensive bottles in the Vintages selection may benefit from extra aging.

With experience, you'll become more comfortable knowing which wines you can put in your cellar and which ones you should take home and drink up. Until then, your best bet is to check with the sales agent at your local wine store when you are buying a more expensive bottle of wine.