Why does wine need to age? Can it age theoretically forever?
In: Chemistry
Wine isn’t often aged like whiskey is, it’s usually good to go within a few months to a year. The draw of older wine is usually the vintage. Batches of grapes have different flavor profiles depending on the conditions and weather it’s grown in. You never know how a years crop is going to turn out until you taste it. Especially good years (for whatever meaning of good, what’s prized depends on the type of wine) are only known after the fact, and will have a limited supply (can’t grow more of 10 years ago’s grapes) so it will be saved and shown off, drank on special occasions or whatever.
Leave wine to long and it’ll eventually spoil in to vinegar, so there is an upper time limit on it, but well sealed and protected bottles can last a century or so.
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