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24 Comments
- LordSkywalker, on 10/10/2007, -1/+16Off topic, but does anyone have a good article on why/how wine "gets better with age"? I was wondering why, and checked Wikipedia, but all it says is "When properly stored, wines not only maintain their quality but many actually improve in aroma, flavor, and complexity as they mature." I was looking for something more specific, detailed, and scientific.
- Lixie, on 10/10/2007, -0/+13Okay, I found a better answer.
"Question:I know the fermentation process only takes about a month or so. Why is a 10 year old bottle of wine better then a month old bottle.
Answer:
The fermentation process is only the beginning. When the yeast consumes the sugars in the grape juice, it's doing a lot more than just making CO2 and alcohol. There are a whole bunch more compounds and "stuff" at work and being processed and metabolized and such. Thus, at the end of fermentation, so many processes have occurred that there's a whole new set of factors at work. Over time, with interaction with the wood from barrels, oxygen (even in minute amounts) and simply time, these newly present compounds react with others, break down over time, change into other things, and so on...on such a minute level and at their own pace that the aging process takes a while....sometimes years, sometimes decades. Similarly, these reactions may produce off-flavors if allowed to happen too long. The wine may exceed its peak age potential and go bad. Storage conditions may also play a significant part in whether or not aging plays a positive or a negative part in the quality of the wine.
Simply put: There's a lot going on inside a wine bottle beyond just the fermentation that affects the quality. Time lets it occur...for better or for worse."
source: http://www.youtunr.com/beer-wine-spirits/1905-2-be ... - benramadan, on 10/10/2007, -0/+8Free samples or it didn't happen.
- inactive, on 10/10/2007, -1/+9wonder how a 130 year old can of Mountain Dew would taste.... hmmmm... would probably need to be shaken up a bunch and then settled again though..
- WRXFiles, on 10/10/2007, -0/+7There is now a huge market in counterfeiting wines. Especially old wines. Especially old obscure wines. In many cases the establishments and people serving the wines are in on the game. Come for dinner, order a $1500 - $5000 bottle of wine, and actually be able to hold a conversation with the sommelier? you get the real deal. But if you are only buying the wine to splash the cash, and a few have already been served? You may just be slipped a very good substitute that is not at all old or exclusive.
Using modern science, wines can be analyzed to their component parts, the 'taste' can be codified, and a replica built up from existing wine stock. Typically a single old and expensive bottle may be used as the base to create ten or more 'replica' bottles that few aficionados would be able to discern from the real thing.
Much of this counterfeiting is linked to the European Mob, and the number of labs involved was highlighted this past year when a total of ten of the same very expensive and exclusive bottle showed up at an auction in Europe. The problem? Only six were known in existence so one appearing was spectacular, ten being 'discovered' in the same time frame from a number of separate sources was just obvious.
So maybe no one knew the room was there... really? - Kitsune818, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4If the corks were submerged, and the rooms humidity was right to prevent mold, they should be okay. Only thing to worry about would be an air bubble in the neck against the cork.
- thushan, on 10/10/2007, -0/+4Mmmm what about coke?
- fishbert, on 10/10/2007, -1/+4Heh, it's a pretty sad state of affairs when the "better answer" relies on the highly scientific, "stuff". =)
- Kitsune818, on 10/10/2007, -0/+3Older wine isn't always better, and that's not just because it was improperly stored. Wine changes with time as some processes that affect it continue after bottling and some are just very slow. It's better to say wine changes with time, sometimes for the worse. There are lots of variables. Some wine undergoes Malo-Lactic fermentation in the bottle, where Malic acid is converted to Lactic acid in a secondary fermentation. It can be encouraged or it can happen spontaneously. That changes the bite of the wine quite a bit. Some corks allow for the atmosphere to interact with the wine slowly over years as air pressures force air in and out of the cork. Same goes for barrel aging. Exposure to light, heat, pressure changes, etc can all affect the bottle. Some wines get "corked", when the cork goes bad and ruins the bottle. Some get over oxygenated and taste off. Some don't get finished properly, form lees and taste bready. Some have enough sugar that fermentation continues and they end up sparkling. All in all, without very careful handling and controlled conditions, a truly great bottle is an accident. Unless there were optimum conditions for these found bottles, I'd imagine they could be quite poor. I'd imagine more than half of their value will be because of the way they were maintained over the years (stable temps, minimal handling, no light, proper humidity, etc.)
- daridave, on 10/10/2007, -0/+2it will probably turn green. Oh, wait...
- jfujita, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Usually a well structured red with a good amount of tannin, fruit, and acidity can benifit from aging. For example wines from the top Chateaus in Bordeaux, Barolos or top Californian Cabs are too tannic when released. After aging the tannins will become a sediment making the wine smoother and new flavors can be tasted from the chemical reactions that occur in the bottle while aging. Most inexpensive reds are made to be consummed right away and only gets worse as it ages. Its only the very best that are drinkable after several decades. I should also mention that taste is very subjective and some may not like the aged taste of wines. I know many wine enthusiasts that prefer younger wines. Try several wines from the 80s and 90s and see if you like the aged taste before you build a cellar and wait decades to be diappointed. Wines are like women. Do you like the youthful fun girls or the more mature women with experience and character? Both have their charms and its the same with wine.
- jfujita, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Wine becomes corked because of TCA. Not because of a degrading cork.
- WRXFiles, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/09/03/0709 ...
- smknight, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1At some point I drank a couple cans of 7 year old Surge. It got better with age! Plus they stopped making them in 2002.
- maverick71, on 10/10/2007, -1/+2As the wines have been stood for so long and the bottles not turned on a regular basis, One can only presume they will be all corked. But hey still nice find.
- brjndr, on 10/10/2007, -0/+1Can I get some of this counterfeit wine somewhere? If I can pay $50 for a bottle that is a good replica of a $1500 bottle, it may be worth it.
These Mobsters need me to help them develop a business plan. - fishbert, on 10/10/2007, -2/+3They're probably all corked.
- Lixie, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2I found this. It says it's most wines don't get better with age. And the ones that do can only be known by trial and error.
"Buy a case, or more. Wine aging is as much about luck as scientific precision, which means you need to pull a bottle and taste the wine before you expect it to be ready."
http://lifestyle.msn.com/FoodandEntertaining/TheWi ... - Julz, on 10/10/2007, -2/+2ha ha ha cornhole... get it.... cornhole..... now thats comedy.... its toilet humor.. hahaha cornhole instead of Cornwall...haha Spuy767 you know funny!
- benguild, on 10/10/2007, -1/+1Oops I dropped it.
- emberjohn, on 10/10/2007, -4/+3cool..
- Spuy767, on 10/10/2007, -6/+2Yeah, but I was disappointed that they weren't found in a cellar in cornhole.
- inactive, on 10/10/2007, -6/+0Pics or it didn't happen.
- jamesleicester, on 10/10/2007, -8/+0Hey, they're mine, all of them. I lost them!
Give them the ***** back or I'll deck you!
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