What Really Happens While Our Wines Are Aging
While we all aspire to age gracefully (and definitely all have hits and misses there), wine, and especially red wines, are meant to age gracefully in barrels. The wines at Kiepersol gracefully, comfortably, and elegantly lean into aging like pros inside our multi-tiered barrel room at the wine farm. And aging wine isn’t just about time in a barrel; it’s about transformation. It’s about softening edges, deepening layers, and finding balance.
What Happens Inside the Barrel
So, balance. What does that mean, and how does barreling help? Balance is when all the main elements of a wine - the acid, tannin, alcohol, and sweetness (or fruit) play well together. None of them should be noticeably poking at you or feel out of place. And red wines, when they are very young, can feel a bit out of balance when the tannins are firm and the acids are sharp. A bit of an awkward teenager that is all elbows and knees. The alcohol is still not really woven into the wine, and the fruit flavors need a bit of refinement. This is where barreling comes in. Once fermentation is complete, our red wines move into American oak barrels, where the real shaping begins.
The barrels breathe, allowing slow, steady oxygen exchange that softens the texture and builds complexity. A little wine disappears each year (the “angel’s share”), leaving what remains richer, smoother, and more layered.
Inside those barrels, fresh fruit turns into something deeper: cocoa, spice, vanilla, and earth. All of those non-fruit flavors you see on the labels and the tasting notes come from the oak. It’s truly the spice rack of the wine world. The process is subtle, steady, and impossible to rush, kind of like becoming wise enough to know when to stop rushing. 😅
How Long We Age
There’s no set recipe. Each varietal and vintage decides for itself.
Some reds find balance in just over a year; most, like Texique, Mengsel, or Barrel No. 33, may rest closer to two or even three. Many people assume the Reserve wines are about aging longer, but they’re really about selecting grapes at certain harvests that have a special character that can be highlighted by setting it aside in small batches. We taste each vat that comes in from harvest and select only the ones that rise above the rest.
Our Edelvit white and Rosé Reserve are the exceptions among our whites and rosés. They spend extra time aging for texture and depth, while our other whites and rosés are bottled the same year they’re harvested to keep their freshness and brightness intact, and they never see the barrels.
Built to Be Loved Now
Here’s the truth: most wines in the world aren’t built to age. Industry experts estimate that only 1–5 % of all wines are truly made to improve with time. The rest, roughly 95 % are crafted for to be consumed as soon as they are on the shelf and available to buy.
At Kiepersol, we do the waiting for you. Every bottle we release is ready to enjoy right away, but the beauty of our estate-grown wines is that they can evolve. If you have the patience (or the self-control), you’ll find new dimensions after a few years; softer edges, deeper notes, and a quiet confidence that only time brings with our reds.
The Beauty of Imperfect Perfection
Wine doesn’t age on a schedule. Every vintage is different, and every bottle has its own path. Some will hit their stride in five years, some in seven or ten. And some, well, they might just be perfect right now.
That unpredictability is part of the joy of collecting wines, appreciating the vintages (the year in which a wine was grown), and sharing with loved ones.
How to Store Wine (Without Turning Your Closet into a Cave)
You don’t need fancy equipment to protect your bottles, just a little consistency.
Keep them around 55 °F in a cool, dark place.
Skip the fridge. It dries corks and speeds oxidation.
Store bottles on their side to keep corks moist.
Avoid sunlight, vibration, and sudden temperature swings.
So the top of your refrigerator is one of the worst places to store wine because of the vibrations and the heat.
We’ll talk soon in an upcoming blog about what to do with open bottles…if you have any.
Aging Gracefully, Together
Maybe that’s why I love the aging process so much. It reminds me that softening isn’t losing strength, it’s gaining depth. That a little time, warmth, and perspective can turn something good into something exceptional. And that sometimes, the most beautiful things, wine included, are meant to be enjoyed at every stage, not just saved for later.
So cheers to aging well, in barrels and in life. 🍷
Kelly Doherty is the Branding and Marketing Director of Kiepersol. A photographer, graphic designer, and writer at heart, the winery and vineyard are the inspired backdrop for Kelly’s creative endeavors.
She holds a WSET Level 3 Award in Wines from the Wine and Spirits Education Trust, is a Certified Specialist of Wine, and loves sharing wine stories.
