Old Virginia Wine

Most of our adventures in wine tasting are fun, educational, and exciting. But sometimes they can be a miss. After a recent trip to DC where we had a chance to try some Virginian wines, we came across a bottle at our local wine shop. We excitedly snapped it up. We failed to note that the bottle of Pinot Grigio we had selected was from 2004, far too old for most wines from a local wine shop.

Some wines need a few years in the bottle. Some can hold up okay. Most wines, though, are meant to be drunk right away. Especially whites. Pinot Grigio is almost always in that last category, the crisp acidity mellows out over time, and there is seldom much fruit or other flavors to act as a backbone to build character for the wine as it ages. This bottle showed that--a nearly flat, slightly bitter flavor.

Thankfully, this is by no means a common problem. Most wine sellers will mark down a young wine if its stuck on the shelf, to keep it from sitting there past its best point. But sometimes things get lost in the shuffle, so just keep an eye out, and don't let your excitement in finding an old wine overwhelm your best judgement.