It’s about time

Of the many factors that influence our wine preferences, perhaps most significant, though less apparent, are the centuries of incremental advancements achieved by winemakers and merchants laboring to reduce the risks inherent with the making, transportation, and storage of wine. A short list of these innovations is likely to include the wineskin, clay amphora, the wine press, wooden barrels, glass bottles, corks, commercial yeasts, winery sanitation, the use of sulfur dioxide and inert gases, and dozens of others.

Winemakers, and wine drinkers, learned very early on that wine will spoil. Exceptions aside, this suggests wine, historically speaking, was commonly consumed while it was relatively young, rather than aged as most are today. This begs the question, in my mind at least... What were wines like during those early millennium?

Those who've had the opportunity to taste wines at various stages following fermentation have experienced the amazing transformation wine goes through over time.

For example, a red wine’s mouthfeel generally becomes smoother over time, the acids less sharp, and those familiar aromas and flavors that only develop over time begin to take shape. Despite knowing there are a multitude of complex organic chemical processes constantly taking place while a wine ages, there is an almost magical quality to this transformation. 

Conversely, time will also lessen, or eliminate altogether, some of the beautiful qualities a young wine has to offer, such as extremely intense floral aromas and flavors of bright fresh-picked red cherries, apples, blackberries, and even persimmons.

The next time you have a chance, hit up your favorite winemaker for a barrel tasting and prepare yourself. For a convenient alternative, pick up a bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau from your local wine shop and indulge yourself in what I believe will be a delightful, young wine experience.

Cheers!