VINO

When it comes to produce — bananas, papayas, avocados and such —it's fairly easy to know when it's at its peak and ready for consumption. But fruits of the vine aren't as easy to gauge.

Different wines have different life spans. Some are made to drink right away, while others don't reach their prime for decades. A Bordeaux from a top chateau like Latour or Lafite can live for 100 years, while an unoaked sauvignon blanc from New Zealand drinks best in its infancy.

So when is the right time to open a particular bottle?

An account by Hugo Rose on the Web site www.MatchingFoodandWine.com sums it up best. Asked when his grand cru chablis would be ready, maverick wine producer Jean-Marie Guffens responded, "It's not a question of when the wine is ready; it's a question of when you are ready."

Deciding when that moment has arrived is the trick.

"As wines age, they go through changes," says Ronald Rens, a Master of Wine who lives in Bordeaux. "Acid mellows, tannins fade and soften with age, while fruitiness will typically diminish and give way to more subtle and developed aromas."

JIM MCCRACKEN / FLORIDA WEEKLY Terry Seitz and Shannon Yates at Bacchus wine dinner. A wine's color can reveal something about its age, although colored bottles can make that difficult to assess.

Bob Mulroy, managing partner at The Joint at Cape Harbour in Cape Coral, says, "Red wine when young is dark and purple in color. As it ages it turns lighter. Wellaged chianti can be brick red and turn a little orange at the edge of the glass."

White wines mellow to a rich gold, he says.

Grape variety plays a role in determining a wine's life span.

"The quicker the wine reaches its peak, the quicker it will decline," says Mr. Rens. A Beaujolais nouveau, made from the gamay grape, for example, is at its best in November of the year it's bottled; by the spring, it's almost dead.

On the other hand, a 1961 Bordeaux made mostly from cabernet sauvignon will remain at its peak another 20 years then start declining, he says.

The quality of the vintage can also affect how long a wine will last. A wine from a great vintage generally lasts longer and, when opened before it reaches full maturity, requires extended exposure to air to bring out all of its aromas and flavors.

Tom McKay of The Wine Merchant in Naples visited Verite Winery in California last fall.

"They opened a bottle of the 1998 vintage the afternoon before we arrived, and by lunch it was ready to drink," he says. "It was a truly beautiful wine." At 10 years old, this highquality vintage was still relatively young and so needed the breathing time to open up.

Experimentation factors into the equation, too, especially when you have multiple bottles of one wine.

"If you want to know at which stage of life your wine is, open a bottle and drink some," Mr. Rens says. "Then over a period of a few hours, try it often and try to see how it evolves during this time."

Environmental factors such as light, vibration and noise all shorten a wine's life. Store bottles in a ventilated area away from odors that could affect it over time. Low humidity and proper temperature — generally between 55 and 60 degrees — are critical to proper aging.

The trend among wineries is to develop wines that are ready to drink now. "They're looking for a quick return and so the wines are made in a different style," says Peter Finlayson, winemaker of Bouchard Finlayson in South Africa.

Red wines finish their fermentation in the barrel, softening the tannins, according to Mr. Rose on his Web site.

With whites wines, the use of sulfur means more fruit is available when bottled. Because many wine consumers don't have an ideal place to store wine, this negates the need for lengthy storage.

There are two sure ways to take the guesswork out of the process:

1. Consult a reliable source, such as Wine Spectator, which not only rates wines but also provides estimates on when each vintage will be at its best.

2. Buy a wine with a screw top. Many good wines now have them. Since they do not allow oxygen to reach the wine the way corks do, no further aging will take place.

And, finally, there's the philosophy touted by Wall Street Journal wine writers Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher. Originators of Open The Bottle Now night, they contend wine is never too old or too young to be enjoyed. "The message of OTBN, especially in these times, is a simple one," they say. "What are you waiting for? Wine, like life itself, should be enjoyed."

Wine picks of the week

>>Bouchard Finlayson Sauvignon Blanc 2007: The winemaker describes it as full and firm on the palate with guava, pear, blueberry and citrus and a long finish. Great with seafood. About $20.

>>Peter Lehmann Shiraz Barossa 2006: A

Wine Spectator Smart Buy, it's ripe and round with cherry and black currant flavors and a long, layered finish. About $18.

>>Bonterra Merlot 2006: Award-winning wine writer Natalie Maclean likes this organic wine for its aromas of raspberry, cherry and vanilla. Round, ripe and well-structured. About $20.