Can wine get worse with age?

I've been known to improve with wine.


Asked by: Emily Davies, Saltash

Wine doesn’t really get better with age; it just changes. Chemically what happens is that tannins tend to bind together and slowly precipitate out, while acid and alcohol react to form esters, which introduces new aromas.

Whether this tastes better or not depends a lot on the grape variety and the intent of the winemaker. Most wine is designed to be drunk within six months and goes downhill from then on.

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