I'm a wine newbee and I'm very interested in seeing how one particular wine might change over the course of months or years. I thought I might buy a case of red, cellar it, and open a bottle every 3 or 6 months to see how it changes with time. I have two questions.First, in such an "experiment" is it common for that taster to change as much as the wine?Second, since I'm on a limited budget, what would be a good wine in the $20/bottle range to get?Thanks.

Great idea Steve. 6 months to a year might be better between bottles. I doubt you'llnotice any changes in a 3 month period. Bear in mind also that therewill be bottle variation - a screw cap bottle woudl reduce that if youcould find a suitable wine with such a closure.As you describe yourself as a newbie I am sure you and your tasteswill change during the course of your experiment. Don't know how muchof a newbie you are, but make sure you understand the basics of how torecognise the various aromas, tastes and tannins before you start theexperiment. If you do that and keep written notes that will help.An alternative approach, or something you might like to do right awayto see what to expect, is to compare different vintages of the samewine. Not quite the same of course as there will be vintagevariations.

Inexpensive Red for cellaring?

Oct 04, 2005 24 Replies

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Tom S 20 years ago

Hello, Hunt -

Your advice re tasting is very sound, but I'd amend the above to read "DO NOT brush your teeth *with toothpaste* before you taste!"

Brushing and rinsing my teeth and tongue with water before tasting tends to improve my palate acuity.

Tom S

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Hunt 20 years ago

Jose,

Not a bad idea. If one wants to simulate aging, they can use several variations of your suggestion.

Hunt

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Hunt 20 years ago

Tom,

You are correct. That is essentially what I meant. Some day, I am going to invent a "wine friendly" toothpaste, and market it to all winos! I hate to have brushed (traditional manner), and then have to "accept" the first wine of the evening. I always try to get beyond the effect of toothpaste, and just let the nose tell the story. Some sommeliers, with who I have had conversations, tell of the look on customer's faces, when they taste that first wine, and have brushed their teeth (with toothpaste), just before arriving at the restaurant. Their description amounts to the "Yagermeister face."

Hunt

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Ian Hoare 20 years ago

Salut/Hi Hunt,

le/on 9 Oct 2005 04:46:50 GMT, tu disais/you said:-

Absolutely.

Na2(HCO3)

(If you ever succeed, 10% of your profits would be gratefully received).

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Mark Lipton 20 years ago

^ Erm... NaHCO3

Can I now claim 5%?

Mark Lipton

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