The study of aging..

[uncle tom]

I don't know how many bottles of wine are aging in cellars around the world - billions I suspect, with a collective value that probably hits 11 figures - but where is the scientific research to determine optimal storage conditions? - there doesn't seem to be any..

Almost every published wine writer gives their opinions about storage, but there is little evidence that any of them really know, and there is certainly little agreement.

Research in university enology departments seems to be confined to projects that can be completed within a student's uni career - unless there are long term projects in place that are not being shouted about..

Is no-one doing long term aging comparisons with bottles stored at different temperatures, or studies into the relative effects of steady and cyclical temperatures, or the effect of differing humidity levels?

All these projects could be set up at very modest cost, especially in relation to the size of the industry..

..am I missing something?

[g-man]

I don't know how many bottles of wine are aging in cellars around the world - billions I suspect, with a collective value that probably hits 11 figures - but where is the scientific research to determine optimal storage conditions? - there doesn't seem to be any..

Almost every published wine writer gives their opinions about storage, but there is little evidence that any of them really know, and there is certainly little agreement.

Research in university enology departments seems to be confined to projects that can be completed within a student's uni career - unless there are long term projects in place that are not being shouted about..

Is no-one doing long term aging comparisons with bottles stored at different temperatures, or studies into the relative effects of steady and cyclical temperatures, or the effect of differing humidity levels?

All these projects could be set up at very modest cost, especially in relation to the size of the industry..

..am I missing something?

guess it depends on the time frame

teh austrailians have been tests of screw caps for the past 25 years but I can't find the link to the study. (I believe it was penfolds with their grange, but don't quote me on that)
I think the french did a study with champagnes being stored in the ocean but again I can't find that study.

[JacobH]

I suppose one question is what you would define as optimal storage. If one dipped the new releases in liquid nitrogen and then kept them at minus 20, the storage would be nearly optimal for the purposes of arresting change in the wine but, unlike the long-term storage of other products, we wish a there to be a certain amount of reaction within the wine to age it (although perhaps our American cousins would disagree ). Optimal storage must therefore allow the wine to continue to change, but how quickly it should do so must partly be a subjective decision. That's not to say that there shouldn't be an experiment to test the effects of different temperatures and humidity levels, but the final conclusion may not be that easy to make.

[PhilW]

I agree that it would make an interesting test, although it would take someone (person, organisation or company) with good resources and long term view (the person sufficiently motivated and resourced to start the test might not be available by the finish of the test); I expect they would need to do something along the lines of:
- 2 cases of port from 3 houses, per test set (to provide sufficient sample for test at say 20/30yr and compensate for bottle/case variation)
- at least a dozen test sets for cave/cabinets, a number of temperature/humidity options (both fixed and varying)
Even a relatively small test such as that would therefore require 864 bottles with each 72 kept in highly controlled conditions, for a 25-30yr period. Quite a substantial undertaking, though the results would be certainly be interesting; Ideally it would also need to be undertaken by someone without a vested interest in the results.

[DRT]

I might be missing something here, but is it not the case that the 200-300 years of the combined experience of wine merchants and major consumers has effectively answered this question already?

I know there will be some myths ad nonsense around the edges of common advice, but the basic principles of:

>> keep it cool
>> keep it dark
>> keep both of the above as constant as possible
>> lay the bottles on their side
>> don't touch them until you want to drink it

...are unlikely to be proved wrong by any test that could be dreamed up.

I think there are better uses of 25 years of someone's life (and money) than trying to prove this basic common sense to be wrong

[uncle tom]

>> keep it cool
>> keep it dark
>> keep both of the above as constant as possible
>> lay the bottles on their side
>> don't touch them until you want to drink it

My issue is that this mantra is incredibly simplistic and unresearched, essentially a clutch of old wives tales without the benefit of modern scientific analysis.

Keep it cool - yes, but what is the optimum temperature? Is slow, cold temperature maturation significantly better? - Is it worth the wait?

Keep it dark - yes total blackout is favourite, but how concerned should we be about low levels of light? - is UV the sole villain, or are all spectra damaging?

keep both of the above as constant as possible - People pay a lot of money to have bottles cellared in deep cellars such as those at Corsham, or spend a lot on running chillers; but are summer/winter temperature cycles (if moderated) actually a problem? Many of the bottle stores in Gaia certainly fluctuate between winter and summer, and many of the Chateau cellars in France are not very deep..

lay the bottles on their side - But some people theorise that bottles would be better stored at an angle. The theory deserves to be tested.

don't touch them until you want to drink it -There is an old mantra that bottles should be rested for six months after transport before opening, and I suspect there is some truth in it; but how much damage do wines suffer from agitation or vibration? Do they fully recover if subsequently rested, and if so, how fast?

The other untested bit of folklore is: larger formats mature more slowly - a mantra worthy of proper research.

All these issues could be properly researched, using a combination of taste tests and chemical analysis. The costs would be negligible, relative to the size of the industry, and the results would better inform both producers and consumers.

[RAYC]

>> keep it cool
>> keep it dark
>> keep both of the above as constant as possible
>> lay the bottles on their side
>> don't touch them until you want to drink it

My issue is that this mantra is incredibly simplistic and unresearched, essentially a clutch of old wives tales without the benefit of modern scientific analysis.

Keep it cool - yes, but what is the optimum temperature? Is slow, cold temperature maturation significantly better? - Is it worth the wait?

Keep it dark - yes total blackout is favourite, but how concerned should we be about low levels of light? - is UV the sole villain, or are all spectra damaging?

keep both of the above as constant as possible - People pay a lot of money to have bottles cellared in deep cellars such as those at Corsham, or spend a lot on running chillers; but are summer/winter temperature cycles (if moderated) actually a problem? Many of the bottle stores in Gaia certainly fluctuate between winter and summer, and many of the Chateau cellars in France are not very deep..

lay the bottles on their side - But some people theorise that bottles would be better stored at an angle. The theory deserves to be tested.

don't touch them until you want to drink it -There is an old mantra that bottles should be rested for six months after transport before opening, and I suspect there is some truth in it; but how much damage do wines suffer from agitation or vibration? Do they fully recover if subsequently rested, and if so, how fast?

The other untested bit of folklore is: larger formats mature more slowly - a mantra worthy of proper research.

All these issues could be properly researched, using a combination of taste tests and chemical analysis. The costs would be negligible, relative to the size of the industry, and the results would better inform both producers and consumers.

All good points.

I believe that Axel is carrying out some serious investigations into all this with some 1999 Poujeaux!

[jdaw1]

The other untested bit of folklore is: larger formats mature more slowly - a mantra worthy of proper research.

Sandeman Vau 2000 has been tested in several sizes. I have tested twice, and others at least once, half versus double-magnum, always the larger size being ‘younger’. So this is plausible.

[DRT]

The other untested bit of folklore is: larger formats mature more slowly - a mantra worthy of proper research.

Sandeman Vau 2000 has been tested in several sizes. I have tested twice, and others at least once, half versus double-magnum, always the larger size being ‘younger’. So this is plausible.

I was once sceptical about this, but am now thoroughly convinced that it is true.