When it comes to wine, an older bottle is not necessarily better. Rather — like the ripening of a fruit — it's about waiting for each bottle to reach the perfect age.		就葡萄酒而言，年份更长并不一定等于品质更佳。不妨这么说，我们应该等每一瓶葡萄酒步入各自的完美年龄，就跟等待果实成熟一样。
Drink your wines too 'green' and it may taste harsh — with overpowering tannins, strong alcohol and flavors that are unbalanced, much like when a dish is cooked with too much pepper or salt. Wait too long to drink it and the wine may have lost its vibrant fruit flavors and seem dead or flat on the palate, like stale food.		喝到了太过“生涩”的酒，你会觉得它味道呛人──丹宁的味道太重、酒精的味道太浓、各种滋味也没有达到平衡，跟一道放多了胡椒或盐的菜肴非常相似。如果等待的时间过长，酒又会丧失鲜活的果香，入口的感觉死气沉沉，仿佛是搁久了的食物。
Unfortunately, there's no science to how long you should wait before popping the cork on your bottle. A short-aging time can last anywhere from two to five years of the vintage date; longer-aging wines can sit for a decade. Only a small percentage of rare and fine wines warrant aging for many decades.		不幸的是，没有哪种科学能让你知道，该等多久才把某一瓶酒打开。从酿造年份开始算，成熟期短的酒可以放上2到5年，成熟期长的酒则可以放整整10年。只有极少一部分珍罕佳酿才可以有几十年乃至上百年的成熟期。
Don't know where to start? Follow these rules of thumb:		不知道何从判断吗？那就按下面的一些经验法则来办吧：
Use the grape, region and price point as indicators. Certain wines made from robust and bold grapes, like a Shiraz, can age for longer — five to 20 years — than those made from lighter-bodied grapes like Merlot — two to 10 years.		用葡萄酒的葡萄品种、产区和价位来做参考。有些葡萄酒用的是西拉（Shiraz）之类味道浓重的葡萄，成熟期就会长一些，可以是5到20年；另一些葡萄酒用的是梅乐（Merlot）之类的淡味葡萄，因此就只需要2到10年的成熟期。
An Old World region, such as France, tends to produce wines that can be aged for longer than New World producers, such as those in California, where there are more ready-to-drink wines. For instance, a Grand Cru Burgundy — the highest classification for this kind of wine — can be aged for half a century; a New Zealand Pinot Noir, on the other hand, needs only two or three years in the bottle. And a $1,000 bottle of wine will probably need to age longer than a $10 bottle — price isn't always the best indicator of quality, but fine wines, which are pricey, tend to have more aging potential.		一般来说，法国之类的旧大陆产区喜欢酿制成熟期比较长的葡萄酒，加利福尼亚之类的新大陆产区则出产成熟期较短的葡萄酒，还喜欢酿制即酿即饮的葡萄酒。举例来说，一瓶特级勃艮第（Grand Cru Burgundy）──最高级的勃艮第葡萄酒──可以放上半个世纪，一瓶新西兰黑皮诺（Pinot Noir）则只需要2到3年的成熟时间。此外，跟一瓶价值10美元的酒相比，一瓶价值1,000美元的酒兴许会需要更长的成熟时间──价格并不总是和品质成正比，不过，那些价格不菲的名酒通常都会拥有更长的成熟期。
Don't forget white wines. White wines have traditionally been known to age for less time than red wines. Certain wine varietals, such as Sauvignon Blancs, can typically be consumed within five or six years to retain their fruity characteristics and fresh aromas. But some whites, such as Chardonnays (especially Old World bottles from Burgundy), are heavier in body and acidity. Thus certain bottles can age for many decades.		不该漏掉的是白葡萄酒。按照传统的看法，白葡萄酒的成熟期要比红酒短。一般说来，长相思（Sauvignon Blanc）之类的白葡萄酒应该在5到6年之内饮用，这样才能保持它的果味和清新香气。不过，霞多丽（Chardonnay，尤其是旧大陆勃艮第产区的霞多丽）之类的白葡萄酒却拥有厚重的酒体和酸度。因此，某些白葡萄酒也可以放上几十年以至上百年的时间。
And let's not overlook Champagnes. Most Champagnes are not meant to be aged, but vintage Champagnes, or those made with grapes only from the same year, can benefit from a few years of aging. (Vintage Champagnes are rare; most Champagnes are a blend of grapes from different vintages.) These bubbly wines can remain incredibly complex even after the bubbles have dissipated. There have been vintage Champagnes more than a century old, for instance, that remained flavorful when opened, even though the bubbles were long gone.		当然，香槟酒我们也不能不提。大多数香槟酒都不适合久藏，不过，标有年份的香槟──也就是那些用同一年份的葡萄酿造的香槟──也可以从几年的成熟期当中得到好处。（标有年份的香槟比较少见；大多数香槟都是用来自不同年份的葡萄调配酿成的。）即便是在泡沫消散之后，这些发泡酒依然可以保持让人难以置信的丰富滋味。举例来说，世上曾经有过存放超过一个世纪的年份香槟，启封之后依然风味浓郁，尽管酒中的气泡早已销声匿迹。
Fortified and dessert wines can be good for aging. Because these types of wine often have added alcohol, they are designed to be bold in taste. Over time, the flavors blend together and soften. Although aging isn't necessary — most fortified and dessert wines are designed to be ready-to-drink — certain ports and sherries are great candidates for aging.		加烈葡萄酒和甜酒不妨久藏。这些酒通常含有额外的酒精，本来就应该拥有浓烈的味道。放得久了之后，酒的风味就会融合软化。大多数加烈葡萄酒和甜酒都是即酿即饮的品种，长期存放并非一种必要的手段。不过，某些波尔图葡萄酒（port）和雪利酒（sherry）还是很适合久藏的。
When in doubt, drink young. Wines that are young in age, despite being occasionally a little rough around the edges, are still a better bet than wines that have passed their prime, which can be almost undrinkable. (Some taste like watered-down wine; with others, the tastes have gone off — wine, like all food, is perishable.)		如果拿不准，那就趁早喝好了。年份短的葡萄酒虽然偶有辛辣之味，但却还是比那些过了最佳饮用期的酒要强，后者可能会达到不宜饮用的地步。（有一些喝起来像是掺了水，另一些则味道大变──跟所有的食品一样，葡萄酒也是会变质的。）
Storage conditions. The condition of your cellar (low temperature, high humidity and darkness) can also affect the aging potential of your wines. The more heat and movement a bottle endures, the less it is capable of aging.		贮藏条件也是一个考虑因素。酒窖的状况（低温高湿的黑暗环境最为理想）也会对葡萄酒的存放年限造成影响。一瓶酒受热越多、移动越频繁，存放的年限也就越短。