by Alamarian » Wed Mar 24, 2010 10:03 pm
Most wine is intended to be drunk sooner, rather than later. "Laying down" the average wine for five or ten years will produce something nasty, not tasty. At best, it'll be off flavored. More likely, it'll be vinegar. This was especially true during the early medieval period. Wine tended to be low in sugar and alcohol, both of which help it survive to maturity.
You could simply go with aging any wine but I'd like a recipe for "aging wine." Possibly a fortified "sack" wine, though that would require distillation. I'm just not sure what it would be. Another thought is to require wine to age in barrels. Simple way: wine won't turn into vinegar if the barrel is placed in a cellar. Then the wine can age for a fixed time, to receive a fixed ql bonus.
"The path of my life is strewn with cowpats from the devil's own satanic herd."