As wine gets popular, more Indians have started using the cliché about people getting better with age like wine- a fallacy that needs to be checked before people are brain-washed into drinking old and tired wines, well past their prime.
 "Shah Rukh is like wine, he only gets better with age. He is settling benchmarks for himself and others with every film", says Vaibhavi Merchant, who has choreographed Shah Rukh Khan in his latest film, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi according to a report in DNA, Mumbai.
Either Ms. Merchant does not drink wine or being a successful choreographer she can afford to dig into her personal humidity controlled vibration-less wine cellar running at a constant 13-15°C where she stocks only fine wines.
Wines of Shah Rukh Khan vintage 1965
If Shah Rukh Khan were born in 1945, a bottle of Cheval Blanc from St. Emilion, on the right bank of Bordeaux in her wine cellar from that year would be worth over $4000 and still appreciating; the 1900 vintage is also still available for $7300 (source: wine-searcher.com). The first Growths of Bordeaux, Lafite Rothschild and Mouton Rothschild from the vintage would be even higher at around $8000. Alas, the 1965 vintage, the year in which he was born is dead and gone.
On the other end of the spectrum, a Sauvignon Blanc from Chile or Nashik from even 2005 is already beyond its prime, and few from this millennium, fermented in oak barrels in California, New Zealand or Australia may still be around- not vivacious perhaps, but drinkable, complex and getting better with age.
Not All Wines Age
It is most important for all wine drinkers to know; the connoisseurs are already aware, that over 95% of the wines produced are meant to be drunk young and should be finished off within 1-2 years of release. A few like Beaujolais Nouveau or Italian Novello should be drunk within 4-5 months of their release!
While 3-4% of wines produced globally will get better for 4-20 years, less than 1% perhaps are in the category of Cheval Blanc, those that can age beyond 20 years and may get better even longer than a human lifetime.
Most table wines, VdP French wines, stainless steel fermented varietals, box/jug wines, some QbA wines from Germany and Moscato wines etc. ,
Majority of Italian IGT wines are just a few of the examples that must be drunk young.
Most Indian wines including sparklers are young wines-to be drunk within 1-2 years. Sula's Dindori, Cab-Merlot blends from Chateau d'Ori, Reveilo Reserve wines from Vintage, aged in oak barrels are some of the exceptions; they would age from 3-5 years provided the cork and storage do not create any quality problems.
Wines that get better with age
Most of the Rosés are not meant to be aged; neither are Champagnes and other sparkling wines which are meant to be drunk within a year so of release, although the ones from special vintages (vintage wines) can sustain longer in the bottle, with a few producers claiming they get even better in the bottle. Most producers leave the champagne in the bottle where second fermentation is goes on till disgorgement just before bottling.
Age-worthy wines are generally referred to as fine wines. The rate and result of maturation depends upon many factors like tannins in red wines and sugar and acid content in the whites which also benefit from barrel fermentation. Wines with lower pH evolve better (higher the acidity, lower the pH value-generally it is between 3-4).
Some grapes like Cabernets, Nebbiolos (Barolo), Aglianico and Shiraz generally age better than Pinot Noir and Merlot. Tempranillo and Tannat would last longer than Zinfandel Similarly Riesling wines get better with age than say Pinot Gris or Chardonnay, especially the German ones with higher sugar content. Wines with Noble Rot (Sauternes) and sweet wines like Hungarian Tokaj, German BAs and TBAs and ice wines can last for decades. Similarly wines made from drying of grapes like Amarone, Passito and Vin Santo are longer lasting, getting better.
While no producer can predict accurately the ageability of wines, they are able to give some indication on the back label, websites or the tasting notes. All low priced wines fall in the young category.
So when Ms. Merchant says Shah Rukh Khan is like wine and gets better with age, she is not necessarily giving him a compliment. And if you believe that all wines get better with age, you are at least 95% off the mark. |
