Drinking window: Forecast, not state

The standard

A declared drinking window names the basis of its limits: what they are derived from and how certain they are. Without that statement, a span of years is a number without provenance.

Criteria

• The span names its source: tasting, analysis or empirical value
• It designates a state, not a date
• It remains open to correction if the wine matures differently than expected
• Its end is reasoned, not rounded

Distinction

Drinking window ≠ drinking maturity: drinking maturity is a perceived state, the drinking window a prediction about it. Drinking window ≠ ageing potential: a wine often remains sound after its span has closed on paper. Where a declared drinking window is missing, a stated year takes the place of a judgement.