Wine Testing and Aging
A well-crafted bottle of wine contains many variables that can change over time, from its aromas, flavors and colors to phenolic compounds whose effects may either be positive or negative; these chemicals provide wines their aromas and flavors such as aldehydes (vanilla), esters (rose or apple) and phenolic acids like Acetaldehyde (horse poop).
Wine is a complex mix of water, glycosides, alcohols and phenolics dissolved in liquid form that undergoes constant change. Chemical bonds connect and disband at variable rates before breaking down and hydrolysing before reforming again later at various rates – these chemical transformations are what determine the ageing process in wine.
Acidity is key to wine aging, with four main varieties present: tartaric, malic, citric and lactic acids present. Tartaric is typically the dominant form of acid found in wine while lactic degradation poses the greatest challenge to maturing vintages.
Vine age treatments significantly impacted all color attributes measured at midfermentation, pressing, post-malolactic fermentation and bottling (see Table 1). A significant treatment x season interaction was identified for total tannins and phenolics at postbottling; this indicated that seasonal climate variations affected their effect of vine age treatments on these characteristics; young vine wines typically displayed lower tannins/phenolics values than Control wines while old vine wines exhibited greater values (young vine wines tending towards lower values; Old vine wines also tend to display higher values).