Recently after a long day shooting wine cabinet education videos, selling cooling units and putting the finishing touches on some wine cellar designs, we needed a refresher course on why we are in this crazy business. In an after hours discussion of the business, new cooling units on the market and recent wine trends, we broke out 3 wines from the Vintage Cellars wine room.

We started with a 1999 Altagracia Araujo Estate Napa Valley Red. It was amazing that after 10 years in our wine cellar, it could still use a few more. We tasted and discussed the elegance of this wine. Plump, sweet, pure black currant fruit and black cherry are a few terms we threw around. A long complex finished followed with a hint of licorice.

The second bottle had 10 more years of proper aging, 1989 Château Pichon-Longueville Baron. Intense dark fruit forward aromas from the moment it was poured into the decanter. This vintage had a fantastic nose of plum, raspberry and tobacco. The final grade: this wine is full of Bordeaux magic and this is why you age and store wine properly.

The last was a palate turner to a Spanish dessert wine, Alvear Solera 1927 Pedro Ximenez. The dark amber color almost maple syrup appearance stands out upon first pour. We discussed different ways to use this wine including poured over fresh berries and vanilla ice cream. It’s like crème brulee in a bottle topped with candied Bavarian nuts.

Yes, this is why the Vintage Cellars crew spends hours everyday talking wine and wine storage. If you store wine properly, great wine experiences will follow.

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