Drink No Wine Before It’s Time, Except…

In the 1970s, Orson Wells stated “we will sell no wine before its time” in the famous advertisement by Paul Masson Vineyards.

For me, this phrase symbolizes the nearly impossible challenge of determining when best to drink a bottle of wine -- when is "its time"? The only way to truly gage whether a wine is at its peak is to try it, and unless you’ve purchased a case of a particular bottle and keep notes as you open bottles, you can do little more than guess. While some wineries suggest ageability of the wine, those recommendations assume that your taste for aged wine is similar to theirs. I’ve had 4 year-old zinfandel that was well past its prime, even though the back label said best when aged 3 to 5 years.

I enjoy wine when it’s fresh and frisky, with vibrant colors and flavors. Not necessarily “nouveau”, but younger and more lively. At the same time, some wines are best after time in the bottle to allow flavors to evolve and mature. While every wine needs to be analyzed on its own, here are some non-scientific rules of thumb that I use:

- For wines under $20, in order to avoid bottle-shock and to round out the edges, I try to hold these for 6 to 12 months. Wines in this price category are made to be consumed right away, so aging won’t improve the result.

- For wines between $20 and $40, I try to hold these for 6 to 18 months. Rarely have I experienced a wine in this price category that passed its peak at 18 months. To me, this is the right time window to allow for some character development without risk of the wine turning bad.

- For wines above $40 (with few very exceptions), I recommend holding for no more than 5 years. Some wineries claim their wines will last for 10 years or more. Perhaps true, but why risk wasting an expensive bottle when you know it will be good at 5 years. Wine on the downside of its peak is a waste in my book. Nobody likes drinking from the catbox.

Keep it happy, keep it snappy, keep it …

Best, Joe Plonk

Click for Drink Plonk Home Page