why do some wines keep imporving for a long time while others dont?

snpm wrote:

> why do some wines keep imporving for a long time
> while others dont?

Simple question but not a simple answer.

There are a LOT of variables a few of which but
not limited to, pH, TA, Tannins, % Alcohol, type
and style of wine and last but not least -
storage conditions - AND peoples judgement and
taste.

We need a biochemist I suspect, but I would like to know how each variable affects volatiles and 'constants'.

Jim

"Paul E. Lehmann" > wrote in message . ..
> snpm wrote:
>
>> why do some wines keep imporving for a long time
>> while others dont?
>
> Simple question but not a simple answer.
>
> There are a LOT of variables a few of which but
> not limited to, pH, TA, Tannins, % Alcohol, type
> and style of wine and last but not least -
> storage conditions - AND peoples judgement and
> taste.

On Apr 6, 6:14 pm, "Paul E. Lehmann" > wrote:
> snpm wrote:
> > why do some wines keep imporving for a long time
> > while others dont?
>
> Simple question but not a simple answer.
>
> There are a LOT of variables a few of which but
> not limited to, pH, TA, Tannins, % Alcohol, type
> and style of wine and last but not least -
> storage conditions - AND peoples judgement and
> taste.

Not to forget the overall quality of the grapes that go into the wine.

Pp

I suspect a biochemist would not help much here. (I am a biophysicist so I
feel qualified to comment on the lack of qualifications). There are lots of
chemicals that come out of fruit and make up a wine. Some of these will
break down over they years of aging. Some of these yield improvement and
others will be detrimental. Wines that are made from juice will have fewer
of these complex chemicals and generally are valued for their fruitiness.
But the chemicals that yield fruitiness do not age well. Whites and some
light reds fall into this group. They typically are best drunk young and
decline after a certain period of time. One of the wines that I make that I
really like will start declining after 6 to 9 months.

Wines made on significant amounts of skins like full bodied reds have a lot
of chemicals that will break down and yield complexity that can be valued in
wine.

Then there are some wines, especially some reds like Cab. Sauv. that have a
very nice fruitiness when young, say 1 to 2 years or even less. As they age
they will loose their fruitiness and go through a period when they are not
that good. Then after they age for 3 to 5 years they tend to enter a period
when they exhibit complexity and these are the wines that give all wines the
reputation of improving with great age. Not all wines live up to this
reputation.

Some of all this chemistry is understood, other parts of it is not. But
then they really do not even know what chemicals are in each fruit. Just
the major ones. If you want to learn some of this, a good introduction is
Duncan and Acton's "Progressive Winemaking". That will probably go deeper
into the subject than you want to go but will probably not answer your
questions.

Ray

"jim" > wrote in message
...
> We need a biochemist I suspect, but I would like to know how each variable
> affects volatiles and 'constants'.
>
> Jim
>
> "Paul E. Lehmann" > wrote in message
> . ..
>> snpm wrote:
>>
>>> why do some wines keep imporving for a long time
>>> while others dont?
>>
>> Simple question but not a simple answer.
>>
>> There are a LOT of variables a few of which but
>> not limited to, pH, TA, Tannins, % Alcohol, type
>> and style of wine and last but not least -
>> storage conditions - AND peoples judgement and
>> taste.
>
>
>