In our discussion of red wine and white wine last month, I said that long and graceful ageing is the essence of great wine. Let’s explore that a little farther.
For the most part, we are talking about red wine, and we know that most wines, red or white, are consumed within 48 to 72 hours of purchase. We got that. The question now is this: How long does it take for that graceful ageing to take place? Here’s an experiment you can try at home.
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