The most expensive bottle of wine is the one that goes bad while it was aging in your wine cellar. Knowing how long to age a wine is tricky. Most wines worldwide are produced to drink not age.
Everyday red wines have about a 5-year life span while white or rose wines may last 2 to 3 years.
Generally, the higher the tannin in red wines which is derived from the skins the longer the wine can age. Tannins act as a preservative. Age worthy wines have structured tannins.
The wine’s balance (tannin, acidity, fruit flavor, and alcohol) is critical.
High levels of sweetness of some wines like dessert wines such as Sauternes have been known to age for 50 years or more.
But most red wines have zero residual sugar. At LDV Winery we age our wines before releasing them to the public. They are drinkable immediately but LDV’s red wines are produced to age even longer. View this brief video for tips on age worth wines.