Written on 25/10/2021
All the advice you need to choose a wine for laying down
It's no secret that the French love to drink good wine. In fact, France is one of the world's top wine-consuming countries. Not only that, but France is one of the world's leading wine-producing countries, with emblematic regions such as Burgundy.
Appellations such as Pulligny-Montrachet and Pommard are known the world over. Some foreigners don't hesitate to come to these regions to buy land and export this wine around the world.
The French love affair with wine doesn't just stop at consumption. In fact, more and more of them want to build their own wine cellar at home. As proof of this, sales of wine cellars are constantly on the increase, particularly for ageing wine cellars. If you'd like more information on the latter, we invite you to take a look at our dedicated article, by clicking here.
But not all wines can be stored well. There's much more to keeping wine than simply storing it in a cellar and letting it age. There are a number of factors to take into account, especially when it comes to choosing the right wine.
- Choosing the right wine
First of all, it's important to understand what a vin de garde is. It's a wine that can age for several years as it improves. But not all wines can be kept. In fact, it's better to drink a wine opened too early than too late.
When choosing a wine for ageing, there are several criteria to take into account:
- acidity: acidity helps to make wines more suitable for aging. Indeed, the more acid wines are, the better they age.
- sugar: this is a major aging factor that should not be overlooked. For example, port and spirits keep very well over the years.
- Tannins: present in grape skins, they help preserve wine.
- phenolic ripeness: this term refers to the ripeness of all the elements that make up the wine, i.e. acids and tannins. These elements define the wine's structure and color, and are the result of grape ripening and vinification.
- The conservation challenge
Why keep a wine? It allows you to discover new flavors. Indeed, some wines that start out very fruity can become much rounder and sweeter with age. It's a great way to discover different nuances in the same wine. As well as the taste, the wine will gain in financial value, and collectors will be able to resell certain bottles at a premium.
