Cellar
Choosing the right wine for your
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Cellaring wines for ageing purposes is an enjoyable pas me and there is a great deal of pleasure to be had opening ♦ When it comes to selec ng white wines to an aged, prized bo le of wine to find that it has cellar, select young, balanced wines with aged just perfectly. On the other hand, there is intense flavours and prominent acidity such as nothing more disappoin ng than discovering that Riesling, Hunter Semillon or Chardonnay. Big the special bo le you have been pu ng off Chardonnays can age for several years - 10 drinking all these years is now undrinkable. So years or more while Pinot Grigio should be how can this be avoided? consumed up to 5 years. Hunter Valley Semillon is one of the greatest cellaring wines The first thing to keep in mind is that not all wines in the world and can live for a good 20 years. improve with age - and price is not always an Riesling should be consumed between 3-5 indicator of a wines ageing poten al. Most wines years, although the very best can have a much are consumed within 12 to 18 months a er they longer lifespan. are produced. While some wines mature and become be er over me, others do not and ♦ There are many styles of red that age well. should be drunk within a few years a er they are Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz are very good made. They lack the intensity and structure ageing wines as well as blends containing required for aging. these varie es. Look for young wines with intense flavours, firm tannins, prominent A famous name on the label is also no guarantee acidity and vibrant, intense colours. A rule of that the wine will age well. The more tannins that thumb for ageing Shiraz and Cabernet is up to the wine has, regardless of the brand or label, the 10 years, Merlot 4 - 7 years and Pinot Noir up be er it will age. The average number of years for to 5 years. ageing white wines is between 5 to 7 years. Conversely, some red wines can be kept for 30 And what of Champagne? Even vintage bubbly is years or more. released ready to drink and although there are Cellaring wines is an inexact science and there are some that will con nue to develop in the bo le, treat Champagne as you would any other wine. no rules to determine which wines will age well. Unfortunately the only way to really know when a Pop the cork and enjoy! wine is ready is to taste it., so keep some of these The best indicator of a wines cellaring poten al is guidelines in mind when ageing your wine: past performance. For the greatest predictability, ♦ The most important factor affec ng the ageing choose wines that are known to age well. But of wine is the condi ons in which it is stored. don't age your wines so long that you forget to Wine should always be stored in a cool dark drink them. A er all, they are meant to be place at the correct temperature: between 8 enjoyed. and 12C for white wines and 10 to 16C for reds.