Drink It or Keep It

Just like you, some wines keep getting better with age. But the vast majority are ready to drink when you buy them, particularly sparkling wines.

In the case of Chandon sparkling wines, we actually do the aging for you in our cellars, so the wine is always ready to drink upon release. If you want to save wines for future special occasions, here are some rules of thumb on which wines will benefit from a few years of storage.

• Sparkling wines can usually be aged for the same number of years the wine has rested on the lees (or yeast). For example, our Reserve wines are aged a minimum of three years on the lees in the bottle before release. You can safely age them for an additional three years before enjoying them.

• Big-bodied reds that are high in tannin, such as California Cabernets, French Bordeaux and Italian Barolos, can be kept for up to 10 or even 15 years, depending on the vintage.

• Red and white Burgundies and white Bordeaux can be kept for up to 5 to 10 years for the best vintages.

Occasionally, we hear from people who have kept a bottle or two from a wedding banquet or an anniversary. They can't bear to open these wines, and want to know just how long they'll last. Our advice: find another special occasion to celebrate and enjoy them while they're still drinkable.