Time Is Now for Good Wine

By Ian Blackburn

In France, wine is made with an anticipation that it will improve in the bottle over time. This works out well in France, as it has a much cooler climate than we do. In France, there is a built-in “patience” in the consumer that has been cultivated over generations and many old citizens own a home that has a wine storage cave or family wine cellar.
 
Here in California, “the immediate gratification culture” has it made. The warmer climate and growing conditions mature our fruit differently. Making wines in the French model didn’t always produce the best wines and by the early 1990s, we embraced our California style with a more modern, warm-climate approach. This allows consumers to purchase and enjoy wine without concern for much cellaring, so gone are the days when you must wait! However, here are a few things you should consider: 

1. Statistics say that most wines are purchased and opened immediately, a majority within 45 minutes of purchase! Makes you question why we even put it in a bottle!

2. More you pay, the longer you should probably wait to open the bottle! Consult with your local wine merchant, but wines under $20 are typically ready to drink.

3. Red to white ratio: We are on our way to drinking 3 bottles of red to every 1 bottle of white. Red wine health benefits as well as more riper/modern wine making styles have helped this along.  However, remember what Hypocrites (450-339 BC) said “Red wine for your heart and white wine for your liver.” 

Cheers!

Ian Blackburn is the founder of LearnAboutWine.com.