Unit 22 of 26 · Online wine course

Wine Quality, Ageing and Collecting

Faults, drink windows and your own collection. 5 lessons · about 39 min

Start with the free unit See prices

This unit is included with Premium ($3.99 a month, 3 days free) or the course for life ($39.99 once).

The 5 lessons

  1. Is this wine faulty? A step-by-step check at home

    A simple routine for a suspect bottle: look, sniff, taste and give it air, plus the faults air fixes, two faults you have not met yet and how to return a bad bottle.

    You will be able to:

    • run a four-step check on a suspect bottle
    • sort faults into those air fixes and those it cannot
    • recognise smoke taint and mousiness on the finish
    about 8 min

  2. How to judge quality in a glass

    Quality is not the same as liking: judge a wine by its balance, length, intensity and complexity, by whether it tastes of its grape and place, and read scores with care.

    You will be able to:

    • separate a wine's quality from your personal taste
    • judge a wine with the four BLIC checks
    • use scores, medals and critics with care
    about 8 min

  3. Which wines get better with age, and why

    Most wine is made to drink young. Learn the four backbones that let a few wines improve, why low pH protects, and the curve a great wine follows.

    You will be able to:

    • explain why most wine does not improve with age
    • name the four backbones that help a wine age
    • describe the ageing curve from youth to decline
    about 7 min

  4. When to open a bottle: finding its drink window

    Most wine tastes best within a few years: learn to read a bottle's drink window from a few clues, and when unsure, open it a little early rather than too late.

    You will be able to:

    • explain what a drink window and its plateau are
    • estimate a window from style, critics and the vintage
    • spot the signs a stored bottle may be tired
    about 8 min

  5. Start a small wine collection, no cellar needed

    Start a small collection with wines you like and a few keepers, track it with a cellar list, and learn to judge old bottles by fill level and provenance.

    You will be able to:

    • plan a first small collection around wines you like
    • keep a cellar list that tells you what to open
    • judge an old bottle by fill level and provenance
    about 8 min

Related reading on Winelingo: Is My Wine Corked? How to Spot a Faulty Bottle