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.

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.

Unfortunately,...