Premarket Aging

Premarket Aging occurs when the purified wine is relocated to wooden (usually oak) barrels, metal vats, concrete vats, or even sometimes glass carboys where the wine matures further increasing flavor, especially when aged in oak. 

Wineries have tried to use other woods such as chestnut, redwood, pine, and acacia (some with success); however, overall, none are porous in the way that oak is and none impart an equally pleasing texture, taste, or tannin level. How long wine is aged, if at all, and if wine ages in oak all depend on the type of the wine and the resulting flavor the winemaker desires.

Wine can only age for certain amounts of time (depending on the varietal and that year’s harvest) before the effects of aging deteriorate the wine.

Aging the wine for the right amount of time creates a more approachable wine—especially in red wines with lots of tannins—with new oak flavors including sweet vanilla, leather, tobacco, and spices such as clove, anise, cinnamon, or pepper. Many wine drinkers like the flavors and aromas oak imparts. Wine softens during barrel aging. Aging for a long time will slowly oxidize the wine in a controlled manner.

tags: aging ·