Saturday, October 3, 2015

Is pop and pour the way that most fine wine is drunk?

As we all know many wines and perhaps most fine wines are not ready to drink when bottled. As a
wine professional this is not a problem for me insofar as my drinking habits are concerned. I always have several bottles open at once and if a wine needs more time I just recork it and try it again in an hour or a day.

Of course, I know that this is not how most people consume wine. I get the sense that a decent number pick a wine and let it breathe for 30 minutes before the meal.  Many customers pop, pour and drink the wines immediately.  I can attest that a large number of wines, particularly fine wines, are closed and not very good for 30-60 minutes.

Some wines are aromatically closed for a time. Some of these will open up in an hour or two.  Some really need a day or two and really need 2-10 years or more in the cellar.

Interestingly enough I've found that some modern style wines seem to go in reverse.  They are best when just opened and then can fall apart after an hour or so.

The one thing that really makes it tough to drink wine young for me is aging in new oak.  I personally don't like the taste of oak and I really don't enjoy wines that taste of oak.  It can take days for the wine to come around and integrate.  I've tried to migrate towards drinking ( and selling) wines that have moderate oak use so that even if the wine is too young to fully enjoy it is at least drinkable when young.  One can get a sense of what the wine will be like without having to imagine away the oak.  I'm gravitating towards moderate oak use to provide structure and some richness but not a huge oak flavor profile.

Not everyone has tons of samples to experiment with.  I'm curious what people not in the business do. How long do most of you let a wine breathe before drinking?  Over what period of time do you drink it?  If you are drinking young traditionally made wines what is your pouring strategy and are you having success?

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