Why does wine taste better as it ages?

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Why does wine taste better as it ages?

In: Chemistry

Anonymous 0 Comments

Wine starts as grape juice, then yeast eats all the sugar and make alcohol. Once it’s full of alcohol in a closed bottle it won’t rot so it can sit for a long time. If it sits for years very slow chemical reactions happen. And get rid of some bad tasting chemicals and make some new good tasting ones.

The thing is, most wine isn’t aged, there is only a few types where that is a useful thing. And it’s not just “older = better”, it’s specific amounts of times where you have gotten the chemical reactions you want without it just turning into gross vinegar. Like a wine that is meant to be drunk 7 years after it’s made, not 5 years and not 10 years.