Ageworthy White Wines

This was inspired by a white wine I had the pleasure of enjoying yesterday from a grape that is not well known for producing long lived white wines. While this Pinot Gris from Alsace had only six years on it, it was coming into its prime and it was clear that it could last much longer. And, those that do age well tend to bring with that age tremendous complexity. This wine had that and was extremely food friendly as well.

So, what do we look for in a white wine to see if it might age well. Growing region! To a very large extent, those white wines produced in extremely warm growing regions do not age well. The grapes are typically extremely ripe when picked giving them high natural sugar that converts to alcohol content, but lower acidity. Instead, go for the cooler growing areas or at worst, those that have very cool evenings and nights.

Another thing to look for, but that will be extremely difficult to learn unless you are into reading tech sheets is how the wine was fermented. Those white wines that were fermented on lees (dead yeast cells) have an oxygenation process that is slowed down. The fermentation process is slower, more expensive, and more difficult, but does allow the wine to age longer.

Then, there are the grapes. Without regard to where they are grown and how they are made, there are a few white grapes that have more aging potential when grown in the proper terroir using the proper techniques. While it's by no means an exhaustive list, look for Chardonnay (particularly from Burgundy), Semillon (Bordeaux and Clare Valley, in particular), Riesling (Alsace and Mosel), and Chenin Blanc (Vouvray, in particular). 

But, everyone needs an expert tip they can actually use and I am going to give you two related ones. While they relate to both white and red wines, white wiens are more affected. Wine in the bottle does not like light. Now, if you are going to drink it fairly quickly after you buy it, it just doesn't matter. But, if you would like to age it, this makes a big difference.

First, the lighter the bottle, the more light that penetrates easily. So, if you see the very plain absolutely clear bottle, that is likely intended to be consumed instantly. But, when the bottle is darker and perhaps less translucent, the wine gets less light exposure. This is where thicker, heavier bottles especially have value. And, you can determine all this by simply inspecting a bottle.

Finally, if you are at a wine shop and you see multiple bottles of the same wine, take the one in the back or the one on the bottom. It has had far less light exposure. Now, there is a trick anyone can use.