Ten Wines That Age Gracefully

Any one of these reds makes a great gift since they age well--just like Pop.

What allows a father to age slowly and gracefully? It probably helps if his children aren't too difficult to raise.

What makes it possible for a wine to age well? More or less the same thing. When a winemaker's grapes grow and ripen under ideal weather conditions, odds are that the wine--once vinified and bottled--will develop the unique characters and flavors that result from prolonged cellaring.

Of course, some regions and grape varieties are better known for their aging ability than others. This is true of the pinot noirs and chardonnays from France's Burgundy; nearby Beaujolais, famous for its nouveau, made from the gamay grape, not so much. There are countless other factors winemakers say are at play as well, such as the strain of yeast used for fermentation, the temperature of the fermentation, how long the wines are aged in oak barrels and more--essentially, all technical details that are of more interest to the average wine professional than the average wine drinker.

To find some good gift wines ($100 and under) with aging potential, we turned to Shelley Lindgren, part owner and wine director of A16 Restaurant in San Francisco. The restaurant's wine list focuses primarily on Southern Italy but extends to some of the classic regions in the north as well, such as Tuscany and Piedmont. We charged Lindgren with picking wines made in those well-known areas, but she made some more esoteric choices as well.