Quiz - How Well Do You Know Your White Wine?

If you can resist opening them, certain wines will reward you deliciously with some time spent ageing. The first consideration when ageing wines is storage, so to make sure you’re keeping your wine in optimum condition, check out Tasting Panellist Adam Walls’ tips on  the best ways to store your wine  . But before you start squirrelling away random bottles, it helps to know what to expect and which wines are the best to cellar. What Happens to a Wine as it Ages? Red wines become lighter in colour, while white wines become darker. Primary fruit aromas merge into a more complex ‘bouquet’ as secondary (bottle age) characters mingle with the remaining primary (fruit) characters. At the same time, powerful fruity flavours change into and mix with subtler savoury ones. Acidity and tannin levels fall away, soften and all elements integrate. Wine Aging Chart Which Wines Age Well? Some of Australia’s most famous region-variety combinations are also our best wines for ageing. These include: Hunter Valley Semillon Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon Clare Valley Riesling Barossa Shiraz Tasmanian Premium Sparkling How Can You Tell if a Wine is Worth Cellaring? There are certain characteristics to look out that will tell you if a wine is worth putting away including: Higher acidity Firmer tannins in red wines The pedigree of the winery in previous vintages can be a useful guide So if you find a wine that meets these criteria, remember to follow  Adam’s wine storage tips  , or if you want to make the investment, a wine cabinet is ideal. There are also plenty of offsite storage options. But if you can’t wait to experiences the benefits of ageing, we’ve got a sumptuous collection of premium wines that have been expertly aged for you to select from below.

With Trophies, Gold, Silver, and Bronze medals, not to mention points out of 100, it’s easy to be bamboozled by wine ratings. Find out how they’re scored and what they actually mean. Wine Selectors Tasting Panellist and wine show judge, Adam Walls, explores what it takes be a champion wine.