Wine Has A Life: It Lives, Ages and Dies
Photo by Hermes Rivera on Unsplash
I love wine. I love its complexity.
I recently re-watched Sideways, a movie involving wine. In that movie there is a scene where one of the characters, Maya, describes wine to a developing love interest Miles. Maya’s and Miles’s developing relationship is driven by their love of wine. In fact, arising from that evolving relationship is a perfect description of wine. Wine is a living thing that lives, ages, and dies:
“…I do like to think about the life of wine, how it's a living thing. I like to think about what was going on the year the grapes were growing, how the sun was shining that summer or if it rained... what the weather was like. I think about all those people who tended and picked the grapes, and if it's an old wine, how many of them must be dead by now. I love how wine continues to evolve, how every time I open a bottle it's going to taste different than if I had opened it on any other day. Because a bottle of wine is actually alive -- it's constantly evolving and gaining complexity. That is, until it peaks…and begins its steady, inevitable decline.” Maya on wine from the movie Sideways
Wine is unique. It is diverse, it is a living thing.
I discovered how wine has an ending (besides it being consumed by those enjoying it) when I read an article on LoveToKnow. One way wine “dies” is after the bottle is opened (aging while the bottle is sealed will be the subject of discussion in the future). Once opened and partially consumed wine begins a decline. Different wines decline at different rates.
Red wine will last three to five days after opening, white wine and rose will last two to three days after opening, sparkling wines, if properly corked, can last one to two days. Dessert wines, because sugar acts as a preservative, can last two to three weeks and ports or fortified wines can last up to two weeks to two months. The bottles of these wines must be re-corked and refrigerated to help extend their life after opening.
Vacuum pumps or airtight sealers can give red and white wine extra life-up to two weeks. Source: LoveToKnow
The life of wine starts with the grapes. After the fermentation and bottling process different wines (while corked) will have different life spans. When they reach their peak, they begin a slow and steady decline.
After opening, wine’s decline accelerates.
There you have it, Maya is right. Wine is a living, and dying, thing.
Wine is life.
Stuart James