On Sun, 10 Aug 2008 15:20:40 GMT, Jim > wrote:

>Is there such a thing as optimum aging period for red and white wine
>and if so what is it for red wine and white wine? Thank you in
>advance.

This may not answer your question about time lines, but it's
informative just the same...

From the 30SecWineAdvisor
(a free wine lover's page by Robin Garr)
http://www.wineloverspage.com/index.phtml


• Most wines don't age. This point is simple but often overlooked.
Probably 99 percent of all the wines made in the world, including
virtually all inexpensive wines, are never better than when they are
first bottled. Only a tiny fraction are made to age, and an even
smaller number require aging. Look to the most "noble" red grapes -
Cabernet Sauvignon and the Bordeaux blends, Syrah and Shiraz, top
Italian red grapes and, of course, the finer Pinot Noirs, for your
cellar candidates. Ageworthy white wines are even more rare, although
Riesling and Chenin Blanc and a few exceptional Chardonnays will gain
from aging. Sweet and fortified wines, particularly Port and
late-harvest whites like Sauternes, will also age into a golden
maturity. But never assume that a $5 jug wine - or even a $10 "QPR"
value - will benefit from cellaring. Chances are it won't.

• Aging wines need care.. Even the most cellarworthy wines won't
thrive if you keep them under poor conditions. The kitchen cabinet or
other warm place is worst. A wine rack at room temperature (or a
wine-shop rack in the open store environment) is slightly better,
assuming horizontal storage position and air-conditioning. But for
long-term cellaring, as we're discussing here, keeping find young
wines for 10, 20 years or more, you must have a temperature-controlled
cellar that holds the wines horizontally at a constant temperature
close to 55F (13C), the approximate temperature of natural caves.

• What happens when wine ages? Again assuming an ageworthy wine kept
under excellent conditions, the primary reaction that takes place over
time involves changes (technically, polymerization, primarily) in the
organic compounds called tannins that occur naturally in ageable wines
from the red grape skins and seeds as well as the oak barrels in which
the wine may be fermented and stored. As time goes by, the wine's
color may change a bit, taking on more brownish or golden colors or,
among reds, sometimes becoming lighter. The youthful fruit aromas and
flavors (sometimes called "primary") and the aroma characteristics
associated with wine making - yeast and oak, for example - (called
"secondary") will begin to fade somewhat, ideally remaining present
but taking a back seat to the intriguing, complex earthy flavors
("tertiary"), which may evoke a wide range of attractive aromas and
flavors from toast or leather to woodsy or s! picy scents. At the same
time, the changes in tannins reduce or remove the rough astringency
associated with young tannins, replacing this with a more smooth and
mellow texture. And all this assumes that the young wine offered a
good balance of fruit, acidity and tannins in the first place. A
youthful wine that's out of whack and imbalanced isn't likely to
achieve greater grace and elegance with age.