Aging of Wine - Artificial Aging

Artificial Aging

There is a long history of man using artificial means to try to accelerate the natural aging process. In Ancient Rome a smoke chamber known as a fumarium was used to enhance the flavor of wine through artificial aging. Amphorae were placed in the chamber, which was built on top of a heated hearth, in order to impart a smoky flavor in the wine that also seemed to sharpen the acidity. The wine would sometimes come out of the fumarium with a paler color just like aged wine. Modern winemaking techniques like micro-oxygenation can have the side effect of artificially aging the wine. In the production of Madeira and rancio wines, the wines are deliberately exposed to excessive temperatures to accelerate the maturation of the wine. Other techniques used to artificially age wine (with inconclusive results on their effectiveness) include shaking the wine, exposing it to radiation, magnetism or ultra-sonic waves. More recently, experiments with artificial aging through high-voltage electricity have produced results above the remaining techniques, as assessed by a panel of wine tasters. Other artificial wine-aging gadgets include the "Clef du Vin", which is a metallic object that is dipped into wine and purportedly ages the wine one year for every second of dipping. The product has received mixed reviews from wine commentators.