page_title: Aging of wine
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Aging of wine / History
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch: ca. 1740er Weinflasche, olives Glas English: Olive-coloured wine bottle from about 1740s
context_page_description: The aging of wine is potentially able to improve the quality of wine. This distinguishes wine from most other consumable goods. While wine is perishable and capable of deteriorating, complex chemical reactions involving a wine's sugars, acids and phenolic compounds can alter the aroma, color, mouthfeel and taste of the wine in a way that may be more pleasing to the taster. The ability of a wine to age is influenced by many factors including grape variety, vintage, viticultural practices, wine region and winemaking style. The condition that the wine is kept in after bottling can also influence how well a wine ages and may require significant time and financial investment. The quality of an aged wine varies significantly bottle-by-bottle, depending on the conditions under which it was stored, and the condition of the bottle and cork, and thus it is said that rather than good old vintages, there are good old bottles. There is a significant mystique around the aging of wine, as its chemistry was not understood for a long time, and old wines are often sold for extraordinary prices.
context_section_description: The Ancient Greeks and Romans were aware of the potential of aged wines. In Greece, early examples of dried "straw wines" were noted for their ability to age due to their high sugar contents. These wines were stored in sealed earthenware amphorae and kept for many years. In Rome, the most sought after wines – Falernian and Surrentine – were prized for their ability to age for decades. In the Book of Luke, it is noted that "old wine" was valued over "new wine" (Luke 5:39). The Greek physician Galen wrote that the "taste" of aged wine was desirable and that this could be accomplished by heating or smoking the wine, though, in Galen's opinion, these artificially aged wines were not as healthy to consume as naturally aged wines.
  Following the Fall of the Roman Empire, appreciation for aged wine was virtually non-existent. Most of the wines produced in northern Europe were light bodied, pale in color and with low alcohol. These wines did not have much aging potential and barely lasted a few months before they rapidly deteriorated into vinegar. The older a wine got the cheaper its price became as merchants eagerly sought to rid themselves of aging wine. By the 16th century, sweeter and more alcoholic wines (like Malmsey and Sack) were being made in the Mediterranean and gaining attention for their aging ability. Similarly, Riesling from Germany with its combination of acidity and sugar were also demonstrating their ability to age. In the 17th century, two innovations occurred that radically changed the wine industry's view on aging. One was the development of the cork and bottle which again allowed producers to package and store wine in a virtually air-tight environment. The second was the growing popularity of fortified wines such as Port, Madeira and Sherries. The added alcohol was found to act as a preservative, allowing wines to survive long sea voyages to England, The Americas and the East Indies. The English, in particular, were growing in their appreciation of aged wines like Port and Claret from Bordeaux. Demand for matured wines had a pronounced effect on the wine trade. For producers, the cost and space of storing barrels or bottles of wine was prohibitive so a merchant class evolved with warehouses and the finances to facilitate aging wines for a longer period of time. In regions like Bordeaux, Oporto and Burgundy, this situation dramatically increased the balance of power towards the merchant classes.
caption: Bottles with cork closure reinvented the process of wine aging.
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