Many wine lovers know that some, but not all, of bottles they bring home in their two bottle wine carriers should be aged in order to bring out the best flavor possible in their purchase. Of course many do not actually understand the aging process and are never sure which bottles to age and which to enjoy right away.
Wine is composed of sulfites, acids, and tannins so to understand aging one need to understand these properties. Sulfites are the compounds which keep wine from turning into vinegar, but eventually all wines will turn to vinegar so aging is a careful balance of time. To find good wines for aging look for those with plenty of sulfites in combination with plenty of tannins along with acids. Wines without these characteristics should just be consumed immediately since their flavor will not improve with time in a cellar.
Once stored in the proper temperature along with the lack of light a wine will begin aging. This is a balance of finding just the right amount of time to allow the sulfites and tannins to fade away just enough for an augmented flavor. For those who are unsure just how long a wine should age there are many charts online to help out with this process.