The
aging of wine is potentially able to improve the quality of
wine. This distinguishes wine from most other consumable goods. While wine is
perishable and capable of deteriorating, complex chemical reactions involving a wine's
sugars,
acids and
phenolic compounds (such as
tannins) can alter the
aroma,
color,
mouthfeel and taste of the wine in a way that may be more pleasing to the taster. The ability of a wine to age is influenced by many factors including
grape variety,
vintage,
viticultural practices,
wine region and
winemaking style. The condition that the wine is kept in after bottling can also influence how well a wine ages and may require significant time and financial investment. The quality of an aged wine varies significantly bottle-by-bottle, depending on the conditions under which it was stored, and the condition of the bottle and cork, and thus it is said that rather than good old vintages, there are good old bottles. There is a significant mystique around the aging of wine, as its chemistry was not understood for a long time, and old wines are often sold for extraordinary prices. However, the vast majority of wine is not aged, and even wine that is aged is rarely aged for long; it is estimated that 90% of wine is meant to be consumed within a year of production, and 99% of wine within 5 years.